Improved “F” Street Tunnel Provides Safer Passage

Lincoln, NE (May 25, 2022) Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird, Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln (PHL), and project partners today celebrated the completion of the Streets Alive! “F” Street Tunnel Project under the Third Street railroad tracks. The project grew out of the 2019 Streets Alive! outdoor movement festival sponsored by PHL and hosted by the  South Salt Creek neighborhood.

“Healthy cities are made up of healthy neighborhoods – ones that offer residents safe streets, walkability, and opportunities to be physically healthy,” Mayor Gaylor Baird said. “The tunnel improvements leave a lasting impact beyond the one-day festival that catalyzed the project, and they add to the vitality of the neighborhood.”

For many in the area – including students at Park Middle School – the tunnel offers one of the only safe passages under the train tracks, but it had fallen into disrepair. The project included the following improvements:

  • Updated lighting makes the tunnel brighter and safer.
  • The leaking ceiling was scraped, repainted, and sealed.
  • The crumbing retaining walls were rebuilt.
  • New accessible walkways and steps were added.
  • The overgrown landscaping was replaced with full-sun, low-water plants. The South Salt Creek Community Organization is adopting the space through the Parks and Recreation Department and will maintain the new landscaping.
  •  Artist Micah Mullins created a mural to replace the faded one in the tunnel.

PHL worked with the South Salt Creek Community Organization, neighborhood residents, businesses, and churches to develop the project.  Partners included the City Parks and Recreation and Transportation and Utilities departments.  AmeriCorps members provided labor, and sponsors included the Lincoln Community Foundation, the BNSF Railway Foundation,

WalMart, and Cascade Cabinets and Flooring.

The 2022 Streets Alive! health and fitness festival will be held in the University Place neighborhood the afternoon of Sunday, September 25th.  For more information on Partnership for a Healthy Lincoln, visit healthylincoln.org.