Waco: State to Fund Two Bike Projects Totaling $4 Million
Feature Photo: The city’s Cedar Ridge Sidewalks project will involve the construction of on and off road facilities for pedestrians and cyclists along 19th Street, from Park Lake Drive (above) to Lake Shore Drive. Image: Google.
Posted: 6-7-2021
by Art Benavidez
Waco (McLennan County) — City Council passed a resolution to accept state funding for a 2.5-mile bicycle and pedestrian project last week.
The resolution was an agreement with the state for $1.6 million towards the Cedar Ridge Sidewalks Project.
Another project, the $2.3 million MKT East Rails to Trails Connection is also expected to receive state funding. However, the city has yet to pass a resolution on it.
The terms of the proposed agreement establish an 80% portion from the federal funding agency. The city would cover the remaining 20%, along with any cost overruns.
City Council also approved a $374,850 contract with MRB Group for engineering, design, surveying, environmental clearance and easement acquisition related to the Cedar Ridge Sidewalks Project.
The city had previously approved an application with Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) for a grant from the organization’s 2019 state call for projects for the Transportation Alternative Set-Aside Program.
In May, the city was informed by TxDOT that the projects were included on the statewide conditional projects list for anticipated fiscal year 2021-2022 transportation alternatives set-aside federal funding.
The projects were among 13 transportation alternative projects across the state that the committee elected to consider for future federal funding.
The Cedar Ridge Project was ranked eighth on this list by the statewide scoring committee, with the MKT East Rails to Trails Connection ranking third.
The Waco Metropolitan Planning Organization held a meeting last month in which they detailed the revised scope of work for the projects.
Cedar Ridge Sidewalks Project
The project will provide on- and off-road facilities for pedestrians and cyclists along a 2.5 mile stretch of 19th Street and 18th Street between Lake Shore Drive and Park Lake Drive.
The project is also expected to conduct a road diet to create two lane arterials, with a center turn lane and bike lanes.
Sidewalks will be constructed on both sides of the roadway from Park Lake Drive to Love Oak Avenue.
The estimated cost of the project is $8.7 million. Advertisement of the project is scheduled to begin during the spring of 2024.
Map of the proposed Cedar Ridge Sidewalks Project.
MKT East Rails to Trails Connection
The scope of work involves construction of a 12-foot reinforced, shared use trail for bicycles and pedestrians on the abandoned Union Pacific rail property that was purchased by the city between U.S. Hwy. 84 (East Waco Drive) and FM 933 (Gholson Road).
The total cost of the project is $2,887,568, with the city contributing $577,514, after the $2,310,054 that TxDOT approved.
The Waco Metropolitan Planning Organization will hold a public hearing on the projects on June 17.
art@virtualbx.com
Leave A Comment