Pier gives new Appomattox River access

-- A 100-foot-long wooden pier off Appomattox Street in downtown Hopewell was completed last week.

The pier was the latest accomplishment by the Friends of the Lower Appomattox River, a nonprofit group that works to protect the river and promote its natural beauty and history.

The 5-foot-wide, $25,000 pier - paid for with $12,000 from the city and private grants - is expected to be used by city residents for fishing and recreation, but FOLAR and city officials also hope to use it as an educational tool.

"This pier provides public access to the river," said Hopewell Councilman K. Wayne Walton, a FOLAR member and an advocate for river issues.

The pier was built in just a few days, but planning took months.

FOLAR hopes that a partnership with elementary schools will allow students to conduct water-quality tests at the pier and compare the results with samples from other places in the area, he said.

The pier is at 205 Appomattox St. near the city's public library. It is also at the edge of an area where the city could build a trail that would extend to the Hopewell Marina, Walton said.

FOLAR is working to develop a 22-mile series of land and water trails from Lake Chesdin to Hopewell, running through the counties of Dinwiddie, Chesterfield and Prince George, and the cities of Petersburg, Colonial Heights and Hopewell.
Contact Luz Lazo at (804) 649-6058 or .