Big Changes to Come to Downtown Wetumpka

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For some people like David Radford, Wetumpka is proudly called home.

“I moved over here because of the beautiful Coosa River. I grew up fishing on it mostly at night but a fish a lot during the daytime and it’s so peaceful here,” says Radford.

Radford and others will soon have more to look forward to. Wetumpka Mayor Jerry Willis says some major projects-like the opening of the Hampton inn are a plus for the city.

“It gives people an opportunity to come here and plan their conferences and little conventions and utilize our civic center and generate a base for us here in Wetumpka,” says Mayor Willis.

It has been three years since construction started and despite some some difficulties, Willis expects the hotel to open in August.

“The investors have been wanting this just as bad as we want it. It causing them $20,000 a month for it to sit there unopened,” says Willis.

“I think it’s great. It brings a lot of people in. I see a lot of people at the casino that are down here and walking, riding bicycles and it’s just a cool place to live,” says Radford.

In addition to a major hotel, giving the city a boost, the opening of this walking bridge that connects downtown Wetumpka to a historic fort-Fort Toulouse, is something some people are looking forward to.

“We’ve had some damage to the walk bridge there-there was an accident and a truck destroyed a major part of that so the construction pretty much has been done. We’re waiting on the engineers to come in and do the assessment making sure that safe before we open it back up to the public,” says Willis.

Once opened, it is expected to attract many bikers and runners.

“You can have a lot of reasons to want to come to Wetumpka and we’re trying to make it the best it can possibly be,” says Willis.