Feeling confused about the state of Panther Island? More information would help

If you were confused by the news last week about Panther Island, you are not alone.

The $1.16 billion downtown river project will straighten and reshape a the Trinity River’s West Fork bend into a flashy new gateway for Fort Worth.

At its heart, Panther Island is a floodway project. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is replacing and strengthening the nearly 70-year-old levees through downtown Fort Worth.

Past the levees, it’s an economic development project. Along with replacing the levees, local officials reckoned, why not move and straighten the river, then develop a new island and lake beneath the downtown bluff?

Plans call for luxury apartments, a river walk and restaurants among other things.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been a strong partner all along, which is what made last week’s news so confusing. Congress has authorized $526 million for the project, but the Corps didn’t plan to spend that in 2018 and might not make it a priority in 2019.

That money is key to the project being successful. Much of the planned construction cannot begin before flood prevention and storm water drainage issues are addressed.

The Corps has liked the project for 16 years under three presidents. Now, a D.C.-based Corps spokesman said it lacks an economic analysis.

Then, later last week, the local Corps office reaffirmed a commitment to the project itself as a way to manage flood risk.

So we’re confused why the Corps and the White House left Panther Island off its priority list way back in July, but the Corps suddenly reaffirmed its commitment.

And we’re confused why the public officials overseeing this grand, transformative development project did not tell us more before now.

Panther Island is managed by the Trinity River Vision board, made up of of city, county and Tarrant Regional Water District elected and appointed officials. If an economic analysis is what’s missing, we’d like to hear those managers explain.

There is no question Panther Island has strong public support. In May, a $250 million bond issue to help speed up the work won with 66 percent of the vote.

We must know what happened, where we stand now and the path forward.

We remain believers in this project, but more information is needed from local leadership to answer those questions.

That would help clear up the confusion.