The city of Warrenton is in the final stages of preparation for construction of a sidewalk along Veterans Memorial Parkway from Market Street to the Shoppes at Warrenton mall.
The city this month …
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The city of Warrenton is in the final stages of preparation for construction of a sidewalk along Veterans Memorial Parkway from Market Street to the Shoppes at Warrenton mall.
The city this month approved a contract with engineering firm BFA to conduct surveying and prepare documents for temporary construction easements and permanent site easements for placement of the sidewalk.
“The three permanent easements are very small. They should have very little impact to any property owners,” said Jon Struckhoff, the city director of operations. He discussed the project during a December meeting with the Warrenton Board of Aldermen.
The surveying work from BFA will cost an estimated $14,400, according to a proposal for the work.
Once the sidewalk is constructed, Warrenton will have a network of pedestrian pathways connecting Highway 47, Main Street, the mall, and all the surrounding neighborhoods.
Struckhoff said engineering plans and cost estimates for the Veterans Memorial sidewalk were submitted this month to the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) for review before proceeding to construction.
“We should be bidding this project around February. We’ve been moving right through this process,” Struckhoff said.
He added that engineers are also working with utility companies to get their utilities relocated before construction starts.
Struckhoff said the city and BFA have cleared a number of hurdles set by the state and federal governments to get to this point, including an environmental impact study.
“This took a little bit more time because of requirements from MoDOT and the federal administration,” said Struckhoff.
Part of the reason Warrenton has to jump those hurdles is because MoDOT is helping fund the sidewalk construction. The city announced in April that MoDOT is providing $314,000, about 58% of the cost, to get a sidewalk from Market Street to the eastern entrance of the mall. Warrenton will pay a little less than $231,000 toward that section.
The MoDOT funding comes from the state agency’s Transportation Alternatives Program, an initiative aimed at provide routes for non-automobile traffic along state highways.
Installation of the sidewalk will also involve construction of buried stormwater drains so that the sidewalk can be built where there are currently drainage ditches along the side of the road.
Eventually, the city plans for the sidewalk to stretch across the entire mall property and reach the westernmost entrance by Rural King. Warrenton has not yet announced whether it will fund construction of that second section of the project at the same time as the first. The MoDOT funding would not cover that stretch of the sidewalk.