Within a month, the construction of a bike path project from Redmond to Salina will be put out to bid, and before winter, the 3-mile path will be a reality.
“We have been working on this for quite a while and it has been a longer process than we anticipated, but we’ve worked hard at putting all the pieces together and are excited it’s coming to fruition,” said Sevier County Commissioner Scott Johnson. “We’ve really tried to mitigate any impacts and considered concerns from all involved; most people have been very supportive of the project and it’s a good thing for our community. I think people are really going to enjoy it.”
He said the path will begin on 5th South in Redmond and will parallel the highway until the river bridge, at which time the path will cross the river and head towards the sewer lagoons, then north to Salina and pass through Sevier School District property and end up at the North Sevier Community Center.
The project is funded in large part by grants from UDOT as well as an outdoor recreation grant and a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) from the federal government. Sevier County has also matched funds with RPA money.
“The CDBG grant requires some comment periods and a few hoops we have to jump through, but we’re ready to put our names on the line and get the ball rolling,” said Johnson. “We’re anticipating the project will be put out to bid in mid-June, and we’ve already had a few local contractors ask questions about it, so I know they’re interested. We’re lucky we have several contractors in our community that can complete this kind of work for us so hopefully they’ll win the bid and will get to work from home!”
He said the project is reasonably priced and it will likely take 60 days from beginning to end of construction. It must be done by late fall, however, because asphalt can only be laid in certain weather conditions, and winter weather won’t work.
The majority of the 10’ wide path will be asphalt until school district property near NSHS’s football field, where it will be concrete with curb and gutter, and in the NSHS ag field it will be reduced to 8 feet and will remain concrete.
“This is a healthy sign of a vibrant community,” said Johnson. “We want to support people getting outdoors and recreating in a safe manner. It’s a healthy part of our community and we want to be able to help provide a good standard of living. I’m excited about it and I think most everyone is;6 We’ve had broad support from a lot of people. We have a bike path in the south end of the county, and hopefully someday we can connect the two and people can ride their bikes on a safe trail from Redmond to Big Rock Candy Mountain.”
