Big plans in works for Blue Heron zip line

Attraction will cross Chattahoochee River into Alabama.

A major expansion is planned for the Blue Heron zip line that crosses the Chattahoochee River, Whitewater Express owner Dan Gilbert said recently.

The expansion will bring a zip line back across the Chattahoochee from Phenix City to Columbus and create additional smaller zip lines on the Alabama side, Gilbert said.

The zip line, which opened in 2014, is owned by Uptown Whitewater Management LLC, the nonprofit organization that manages the 2.5mile urban rafting course. Whitewater Express, the only outfitter operating on the Chattahoochee, also staffs and manages the zip line.

“This will make our zip line a real destination,” Gilbert said. “Ours is different in many ways because so many of the zip lines are in the woods and you are going tower to tower and tree to tree. This one is not in woods and it is in the middle of an urban setting.”

Uptown Whitewater Management President Richard Bishop said the new zip line is in the planning phase.

“We are 99.9 percent sure this will happen,” Bishop said. “We are in the due diligence process right now. We are firming up costs and firming up agreements on both sides of the river.”

Construction could begin early next year and open by March or April, Bishop said. Construction will take 30 to 60 days, Gilbert said. The first phase cost about $275,000 and was paid by Whitewater Management LLC. The second phase is expected to cost about $300,000, Gilbert said. It will be funded the same way as the original section. “When we opened the zip line, we thought it would be an add-on to the whitewater course,” Gilbert said.

“It is the only zip line that will go from one state to another and back and is one of few that cross a major river,” Gilbert said. Notes: Weekly volume as a percentage of company’s total outstanding volume. Not available. Not calculable. Not meaningful — avg. P-E exceeds 100. Loss this year, earnings last year. Loss both years. - Net for 12 Mos gives the company’s per-share income or loss for the last 12-month period reported. Ind Yld% (indicated yield) is quarterly dividend multiplied by four and divided by closing price.