Foley dedicates improvements to Heritage Park, extension of Jessamine Avenue
FOLEY, Ala. (WKRG) — The City of Foley dedicated improvements made at Heritage Park Friday, including the extension of East Jessamine Avenue and reopening East Jessamine and North Chicago streets to traffic after about nine months of construction.
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According to a City of Foley news release, improvements included the construction of a brick gateway, columns and pavers at the eastern entrance to the park.
Additionally, East Jessamine Avenue was extended from the park's gate to Cypress Street, the release said. These improvements create a new walkway that will lengthen the pedestrian bridge that extends over Alabama 59 to Foley City Hall.
Foley Mayor Ralph Hellmich said the improvements increased pedestrian access in downtown Foley.
'We've added a sidewalk that ties in City Hall all the way to our middle school,' he said. 'This goes right through the heart of the park.'
Other improvements have been made to East Jessamine including two new sets of four-way stop signs at the intersections of North Chicago Street and North Cypress Street, and 20 new parking spaces, the release said.
The completion of the eastern gate now gives the park brick entranceways on all four sides, and pavers link the new gate with the Centennial Clock and fountain on the west side of the park, according to the release.
'The clock tower here is the nexus of the park, so we have sidewalks that go north and south and east and west — very symmetrical,' Hellmich said. 'This eastern boundary is now beautified to match all of the other directions of our park.
The city worked with Riviera Utilities to install decorative LED lights on Jessamine Avenue and wooden poles that held halogen lights were replaced with black poles holding LED lights.
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Foley's Horticulture Department will also six new trees along the Jessamine Avenue extension.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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