Warsaw Gets $960,000 Grant For Bike Trail
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
The planned biking/hiking trail from the City-County Athletic Complex to Winona Lake received a major shot in the arm this week.
Warsaw was awarded a $960,000 grant under the federal Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act for the construction of the eight-mile project, according to Warsaw city planner Jeff Noffsinger.
"This grant will be used for the construction of the trail system from Chinworth Bridge, near the CCAC, to Winona Lake Park," he said. "The next step is to talk with Zimmer and R.R. Donnelley about getting some right of way for the trail."
Noffsinger added the trail system will be a mixture of newly constructed trails along donated rights of way and the designated bike paths on existing city streets and along side rail lines, where the right of way is wide enough to allow for the bike paths.
"Center Street through the industrial park has a right of way of 90 feet, so there is plenty of room to mark off a 6-foot-wide bike path along either side of the road in that segment," he said.
The grant, which will be administered by the Indiana Department of Transportation, will require 20 percent, or $240,000, in local matching funds, Noffsinger added.
"It's my intention to seek private funding for the local match," he said. "The plan is to get the three governmental entities (county, Warsaw and Winona Lake) behind the project with some funding - it will be an easier sale to get private donations."
Engineering and right of way acquisition expenses be will be solely the responsibility of the city, he said. The ISTEA grant can be used only for construction.
Noffsinger said the engineering costs will be an estimated $100,000. He will ask each of the governmental jurisdictions to contribute a third of that.
"If all goes well, by next fall, people could be riding their bikes or walking the trail from Winona Lake past CCAC to Chinworth Bridge," he said.
The ISTEA has been in place since 1991 and has provided more than $1 billion for bicycle, pedestrian and nature trails projects throughout the United States.
The ISTEA trust fund is supported by a majority of the federal government's 14-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax. [[In-content Ad]]
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The planned biking/hiking trail from the City-County Athletic Complex to Winona Lake received a major shot in the arm this week.
Warsaw was awarded a $960,000 grant under the federal Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act for the construction of the eight-mile project, according to Warsaw city planner Jeff Noffsinger.
"This grant will be used for the construction of the trail system from Chinworth Bridge, near the CCAC, to Winona Lake Park," he said. "The next step is to talk with Zimmer and R.R. Donnelley about getting some right of way for the trail."
Noffsinger added the trail system will be a mixture of newly constructed trails along donated rights of way and the designated bike paths on existing city streets and along side rail lines, where the right of way is wide enough to allow for the bike paths.
"Center Street through the industrial park has a right of way of 90 feet, so there is plenty of room to mark off a 6-foot-wide bike path along either side of the road in that segment," he said.
The grant, which will be administered by the Indiana Department of Transportation, will require 20 percent, or $240,000, in local matching funds, Noffsinger added.
"It's my intention to seek private funding for the local match," he said. "The plan is to get the three governmental entities (county, Warsaw and Winona Lake) behind the project with some funding - it will be an easier sale to get private donations."
Engineering and right of way acquisition expenses be will be solely the responsibility of the city, he said. The ISTEA grant can be used only for construction.
Noffsinger said the engineering costs will be an estimated $100,000. He will ask each of the governmental jurisdictions to contribute a third of that.
"If all goes well, by next fall, people could be riding their bikes or walking the trail from Winona Lake past CCAC to Chinworth Bridge," he said.
The ISTEA has been in place since 1991 and has provided more than $1 billion for bicycle, pedestrian and nature trails projects throughout the United States.
The ISTEA trust fund is supported by a majority of the federal government's 14-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax. [[In-content Ad]]