An $1.2 million contract to build improvements to a riverfront nature park near downtown was awarded Tuesday by the Napa City Council.

Hess Concrete Construction Co. Inc. got the contract for a trail system, a small parking lot and habitat improvements to the 12.7-acre Napa River Oxbow Preserve.

Access will be from a private street, McKenzie Drive, off of Silverado Trail.

The total project, including land acquisition, is expected to cost $3.7 million. State grants are covering $2.7 million.

The city will be funding nearly $1 million in additional costs from developer park development fees.

Native vegetation will be restored, with Friends of the Napa River providing volunteers to help new plantings get established, city officials said.

The park is on an undeveloped peninsula across the river from Copia, the new Oxbow Public Market and two hotels further north.

Once the park is ready for public use, the city will spend $200,000 rebuilding McKenzie Drive./Register