Next year looks most likely for Electric City path project

A pedestrian and bicycle pathway connecting the Coulee Playland area to the Banks Lake Park area will probably be done next year instead of this year, and now has some extra funding. 

Last February, the pathway's construction looked likely for this summer, but at the Aug. 9 Electric City council meeting, City Engineer Steve Nelson of Century West Engineering said the project looks more likely to be constructed next year, although it could still go out to bid in 2022.

He also said that an additional $200,000 in funding is coming in from Grant County via a federal grant which will come in handy as the Washington State Department of Transportation is requiring more curb work to be done for the project to be built. 

The project was originally anticipated to cost $707,800, paid for with $$672,410 from a WSDOT pedestrian and bicycle program funding grant, and a 5-percent, $35,390 match from Electric City, The Star reported in 2020.

Additional costs for the project are stemming from additional requirements from WSDOT for the trail , Nelson told The Star, although an updated total cost was not yet available.

Increased gas prices also contribute to an increased cost for the project.

The pathway is also tied to a speed limit reduction for 800 yards of highway, from the Coulee Playland area to the top of North Dam, from 45 miles per hour to 30 miles per hour.