BOISE — After more than a year of work, Ada County is celebrating the reopening of the Boise River Greenbelt's Penitentiary Canal segment.
A ribbon-cutting took place Wednesday afternoon at the diversion dam in east Boise, along the rebuilt path.
The $1.3 million project was scheduled to be completed in June, but damage that occurred during construction forced postponement of the reopening.
Ada County Parks and Waterways Director Scott Koberg thanked county commissioners for approving the funds for the project and recognizing the Greenbelt's importance and he thanked the public for bearing with the closure.
"Obviously it's challenging to have any closure of the Greenbelt,” said Koberg. “Folks get pretty used to using certain segments, and with a sort of dangerous non-detour - an alternate route - we had some folks on the pathway during construction. For those that did not enter the construction zone, thank you sincerely."
The old path was 7-to-9 feet wide.
The new one is 11 feet wide with shoulders along the length of the path.