COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) — Work has begun on a zip line that will carry people across the Chattahoochee River at the Georgia-Alabama state line.

The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reports (http://bit.ly/1u6t5Yk) that the first piece of the new zip line -- a 60-foot pole -- was put into place Thursday in downtown Columbus. There will be two poles on the Georgia side and two on the Alabama side.

The zip line will start on the Georgia side of the river near Bay Avenue and 11th Street in Columbus. The 1,200-foot line in which people will reach speeds in excess of 40 mph ends on the Alabama side in Phenix City.

Whitewater Express Inc. owner Dan Gilbert says he hopes the zip line can open in September. It's part of a larger project involving a whitewater rafting course.