VIDALIA — The City of Vidalia has received funding to extend the Riverwalk, and has long-term plans to turn the paved trail along the Mississippi River into a 5.5-mile loop.

Grants Coordinator Teresa Dennis was able to help the city secure a $100,000 grant from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to extend the southern end of the Riverwalk, Mayor Hyram Copeland said.

The funds available now will only serve for a short extension, but it will be the launching point for a larger project, he said.

“The goal is to have a 360-degree loop where we take it all the way to the end, put it on top of the levee and take it all the way back to Comfort Suites on the north end,” Copeland said. “The Riverwalk is very nice, but it can get repetitious when you walk it and have to turn around and walk back the way you just came.”

The loop project will likely be a two-year endeavor and will require the participation of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which maintains the levees, Copeland said.

The mayor said that as the Riverwalk is extended, the riverside pathway will eventually be connected to the top of the Mississippi River levee by the smaller ring levee near the Bunge grain elevator.

At the same time the city is pursuing the Riverwalk extension, it is likewise pursuing grant funding for the next phase of the William T. Polk Park.

The Louisiana Municipal Association recently honored Vidalia with a Community Development for the development of the park in partnership with the Recreation District No. 3 as it developed its new recreation complex.

Vidalia won the award for municipalities with populations between 3,001 and 10,000.

“It is a tremendous honor,” Copeland said of the award. “We are very honored.”

In addition to the ball fields and tennis courts at the recreation complex, the Polk park includes three basketball courts, a two-acre pond with a pier arching over the water, a walking trail, a beach for the pond and two volleyball courts. The city also provided some infrastructure for the project.

“This is a case of everybody working together and the final result is a multi-million dollar recreation complex and park,” Copeland said.

The next phase in the development of the park will include a picnic area where users will be able to barbecue, he said, but will be far from the end.

“This is going to be a constant project,” he said. “We have spent $2.5 million so far, and the final project will be close to $5 million.”