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MONROE TWP.
Bike path needs more time, funds
Cost of township's leg of Great Miami Bike Trail has gone up, and grants aren't enough to complete it.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Monroe Twp. still will get its leg of the Great Miami River Bike Trail, but it will take longer than planned.
It also will take more money, but who will pay has not been identified.
Extras
Park districts and governments in Miami and Montgomery counties working on the Monroe Twp. trail section to connect trails in Miami and Montgomery counties have been working for several months to decide how to use $2.2 million in grants to pay for trail sections whose cost estimates grew from $2.4 million to $3.6 million.
The added costs were blamed on overall increase in construction materials, changes in trail design and possible underestimated costs.
The Monroe Twp. trail has two sections, north and south of Tipp City. The north section would run south from the end of the Concord Twp. trail at Monroe-Concord Road to the trail at the Tipp City Nature Center. The south section would run from Tipp City's south side into Montgomery County to tie into its existing trail.
Martin English, a Monroe Twp. trustee, said the planners have agreed the project will be done in two phases, with the south section to be done first in 2008 using the grants and locally committed dollars.
Jerry Eldred, Miami County Park District executive director, said construction of the southern section now is estimated to cost around $2.2 million. Grants likely will be sought to help pay for the northern section, Eldred said.
With plans for the south section redone and approved by Ohio Department of Transportation and Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission, work now will begin on negotiating with property owners for use of their land for the trail, English said.
The south section begins in Tipp City in Kyle Park. The city's share of the project also has grown to around $65,000 from around $18,000 originally budgeted, Scott Vagedes, city engineer, said.
