Bids open next week for first phase of Jackson biking trail

The city of Jackson will seek bids on a project next week that is intended to improve safety for children walking to and from the middle school.

And that's good news for school officials and students like Blake Hicks, who walks home from school every day.

Blake, who lives on West Lane Boulevard, let a friend borrow his bike last spring. Blake's friend rode his bike to Highway 72, where there is no sidewalk, and he was hit by a car. The victim had a big cut behind his ear and missed a couple of days at school.

So Blake is a proponent of a proposed biking trail that will connect the middle school with the city park and Orchard Drive.

"I think it's a good idea," he said.

On Oct. 6, bids will be sought for construction of a hiking and biking trail that will connect the school with the city park. It will also seek bids for the second phase of the city's overall trail plan -- however, the city may reject bids for that project.

The second phase, from the middle school to Orchard Elementary School on Orchard Drive, was supposed to be completed by the city's street department. But the cleanup from the May 6 tornado pushed back the project.

City engineer Dan Triller said if a contractor bids lower than the engineer's estimate of $30,000 for the second phase, then the work will be done at the same time as phase one. If not, then the street department will do the work next spring.

Tornado interruptions

"I'm two months behind on everything," said Jackson street superintendent Steven Hendrix. "Last week, we burned 1,200 tons of brush. All the painting of the crosswalks, the striping of the parking lots, a lot of the patchwork on the streets got pushed back because of the tornado."

The street department isn't the only department behind schedule. In March, the city of Jackson submitted plans to the Missouri Department of Transportation. MoDOT officials then had hoped that construction on the Route D trail would begin in June and be completed in September.

The problem is that the project has to go through local, state and federal levels, which delayed the progress.

Because of safety concerns and because it parallels a state highway, the Route D trail qualifies for funding under the Transportation Enhancement Funds Program. The money comes through MoDOT, but has to be approved by the Federal Highways Administration.

Once the city accepts a bid on the project, the bids will have to be authorized by the Federal Highway Administration, said Tenea Choate, a senior planning technician with MoDOT. After that, the contractor, city officials and MoDOT officials will meet to discuss details.

Depending on when the contractor could start working, construction could begin a month after the bids, Choate said.

The stretch on Route D is particularly dangerous for pedestrians where Rocky Branch flows underneath the road. Walkers are forced to walk on the street for a short stretch there.

Terri Fisher-Reed, a first-year assistant principal at the middle school, said the trail will make the area much safer.

"This road is so busy," she said. "We have a lot of kids that walk and it's just a dangerous place to be."

bmiller@semissourian.com

243-6635