Beginning last June, work began in earnest on the Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Project, a three-year project aimed at restoring at least a portion of the Salt River back to it original form. The $80-million project is being financed with Federal and city funds.

"This is the only city I've been in where they turned their backs on a river," says Walt Kinsler, manager of the project.

For years, the Salt River has been abused by the residents of the Valley. The river, which cuts through the Valley from Mesa on the east to Phoenix, has been used as a dumping ground and was torn up by sand and gravel companies. A series of dams long ago dried up any water flow.

The majority of land adjacent to the river reflects the eyesore it has become: it is home to some of the least desirable office and industrial space in the Valley. While development and redevelopment has flourished elsewhere, its has largely avoided the Salt River area in Phoenix.

The restoration project began in June, with 65% of the funds coming from the Army Corps of Engineers and the rest from the city. When completed, the Salt River will again be a vibrant wetland, at least between 32nd Street and 19th Avenue where the work is being done.

A channel is being dug that will one day carry a constant stream of water, much of it from an underground aquifer. All the trash and non-indigenous plants will be cleared, and 76,000 pieces of vegetation, about 60% of it trees, will be planted on the side of the 200-foot wide, 10-foot deep channel. A 10-mile loop of trails will be built for walkers, runners, bikers and equestrians along the outer banks. The project will also feature a education center and decorative columns that will shade the walkways leading to the river. The project is expected to be completed by 2003.

If, as proponents expect, this undertaking attracts residents, then redevelopment of the land adjacent to the project is sure to follow.