FARMINGTON — The city of Farmington has received $900,000 in grants that will be used to help with the costs of building Creekside Trail, a walking/biking trail that will go from the city park on Broyles Street to the Fayetteville city limits on West Alberta Street.
City business manager Melissa McCarville said this is the first time Farmington has applied for these grants that are coming from federal money provided from the Transportation Alternative Program or TAP.
The city is receiving a $400,000 TAP grant through Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission and a $500,000 TAP grant from the Arkansas Department of Transportation. Both grants can only be used for construction costs, according to McCarville.
The city will be required to match the grants with 20% in local funding.
According to a news release from the department of transportation, the state awarded 56 TAP projects for about $15 million for 2022.
TAP grants provide funding for eligible programs and projects defined as “transportation alternatives” for pedestrians, bicyclists and other non-motorized forms of transportation.
Farmington is proposing a 10-foot-wide trail that would start at the existing pedestrian crossing on Broyles Street at Creekside Park and extend about 0.65 mile to the city limits on the south side of West Alberta Street.
The trail plan includes a second crosswalk on Broyles, trailhead and a new parking lot with 65 spaces located on the east side of Broyles. This parking lot would be available for those using the Farmington Disc Golf Course.
Farmington City Council has approved two contracts with Burns McDonnell of Springdale for the trail. The initial contract to Burns McDonnell was $61,560 for the planning stage of the trail and a park concept design. The new trail is considered phase one of the park concept for future improvements to the park.
The second contract for $106,700 gave the firm authority to finish the final design, which includes the parking lot survey, parking lot design, final trail design, bidding services and construction observation.
Burns McDonnell has estimated the trail construction will cost about $860,000, with another $323,000 for lights along the trail, associated electrical costs and landscaping for a total projected cost of $1.2 million, not more than $1.3 million.
Aaron Boehmler, senior civil engineer with Burns McDonnell, last week said the trail design is about 60% complete. He said he will be working with the state department of transportation now that the grants have been awarded to make sure the city follows the correct procedure for the project.
The plan is to get the design to 90-100% complete in the next few months, get the OK for the design from the state, advertise for bids and hopefully start construction in April, Boehmler said.
Boehmler and McCarville worked together on the grant applications and Boehmler said he is excited that the city received the grants because it makes the trail “very feasible and constructible” for Farmington.
Laurie Adkins, parks director and facilities manager, last week also said she is excited about the grants and a new trail at Creekside Park.
The trail and new parking lot will benefit the community and surrounding neighborhoods in multiple ways, Adkins said.
“This trail will provide the access from our major park in the city to the (Razorback) Greenway. Once this is done, you can bike all the way to Bentonville if you want,” she said.
A new parking lot on the east side of Broyles will relieve pressure on the main parking lot for Creekside Park, next to the basketball and tennis courts, and will provide a place for disc golfers to park so they do not have to cross the street to play on the course, she added.
Adkins said she is excited to get the “pieces together” to get started on phase one of the overall park concept.