Folks could be ziplining across the Chattahoochee River by July.
That’s when Columbus outfitter Whitewater Express hopes to have a steel cable 1,200 feet long stretched above the river from a 60-foot tower off Bay Avenue at 11th Street to a 300-foot-tall platform on the Alabama riverbank — a $24.50, one-minute run of up to 45 mph.
The exact drop in elevation from start to finish is yet to be figured, one facet of the engineering work likely to take two to four more weeks, with about six more weeks for construction, said Whitewater Express owner Dan Gilbert.
Gilbert briefed civic leaders on “The Blue Heron” zipline Thursday during a review of the whitewater course’s first-year performance and a preview of what comes next. This weekend marks the start of a new season for rafting on the Chattahoochee.
“We have to step it up every year to continue to grow,” said Richard Bishop of Uptown Columbus Inc., which manages the venue.
Gilbert said the zipline launch will look like an old water tower with a heron’s nest atop it. The launch pad will be 50 feet up a spiraling stairway, with a ladder to an observation deck 10 feet taller, he said. The line will be about 100 feet over the river, he said.
Comments ( 0 )