Warden to award bid for sidewalk, foot path

WARDEN — A Warden street with heavy foot traffic, but not many sidewalks, will get a pedestrian upgrade.

A project will build an asphalt path at Sandy Way to the Pine Avenue-First Street intersection. Sidewalks also will be installed from Pine Avenue to Oak Avenue and an asphalt path from Oak Avenue to South County Road.

“There’s a lot of pedestrian traffic,” said Warden city clerk Kristine Shuler

Shuler said the Warden City Council is scheduled to consider awarding a contract for the project at its May 25 meeting. Total project cost is $300,000. The city received a $255,000 grant from the state Transportation Improvement Board, and will add $45,000 as its portion.

City officials will apply for additional funds to pay for extending the walking path down First Street, planning to end at Industrial Way, Shuler said.

Shuler said the project is about 3,900 feet long, a mix of asphalt walking trail and concrete sidewalk. She estimated the project would start within 60 days of the bid award. The contractor has 35 days to reach substantial completion.

It’s a popular route, both for people just out for a walk and for those walking to work on First Street. The street is the location of many of Warden’s major employers.

But there’s also a lot of car and truck traffic along First Street. It’s on a main access route to the Warden School District campus, and South County Road is a major intersection on the route to Interstate 90.

“That road has a lot of truck traffic too,” Shuler said.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].