Design work is being done for Core Trail West. That’s the extended concrete sidewalk on the west side of town from Snow Bowl Plaza along the KOA Campground, under Highway 40 near the Sleepy Bear entrance via a pedestrian underpass, and then connecting to County Road 42 near Silver Spur. SGM Engineers was hired to do the design work. Plans should be ready by next spring. There may be some traffic holds Tuesday and Wednesday nights. The work is being funded by two grants.
Here is the full press release today from the City of Steamboat Springs.
City Begins Design Efforts for Core Trail West — Survey Work Impacts Evening US40 Traffic on Tuesday and Wednesday
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, COLORADO-July 19, 2021-The city entered into a contract with SGM Engineers to complete design work for Core Trail West, the trail to the west of the current pedestrian network on the west side of town. Plans are expected to be complete Spring 2023.
As part of the initial design phase, crews will be conducting a survey of the proposed route and US40 crossing. Flaggers will hold and alternate traffic approaching the highway in the proposed crossing from 6pm until dark tomorrow, Tuesday, July 20 and again on Wednesday, July 21.
“No construction funding has yet been identified and it will likely require multiple project partners to realize this effort that extends outside of the city limits,” said City Engineer Ben Beall. “Strategically, we may be required to separate the project into two or more phases to segment work and cost based on funding availability including future grant opportunities.”
The Core Trail West project would extend concrete sidewalk from Snow Bowl Plaza to the city-owned Fournier parcel where it would intersect a shared use path that would run from the Fournier parcel along the KOA campground and go under US40 near the Sleepy Bear entrance via a pedestrian underpass. At this point the trail would transition from concrete to soft surface and would run from US40 north and then west to connect to CR42 near Silver Spur
The design includes multimodal facilities totaling 2.17 miles linking residents in the neighborhoods on the westside of Steamboat to the overall pedestrian and trail network. The design includes approximately 800 feet of 8-foot hard surface sidewalk, 2,750 feet of 10-foot-wide hard surface Core Trail with 3-foot soft surface trail edge along Highway 40, 8,000 feet of soft surface trail, and a separated grade crossing of the state highway.
The trail is intended to be hard surfaced for the segment south of US40 in a permanent location and will be soft surfaced north of US40 to allow for relocation as future development may occur. The project includes extensive property owner coordination, consideration of wildlife and wetland mitigation and/or enhancement, and eventual plans to widen US40.
Currently, the project has received two grants – Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Multimodal Options Fund ($200k) and GOCO State Trails Grant through Colorado Parks & Wildlife ($75k). Match requirements are funded via the city’s accommodations tax fund for these two grants.
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