CHIMACUM — Construction of the Rick Tollefson Memorial Trail is expected to start as early as next week now that the Jefferson County commissioners have approved a contract for phase one of the trail.
The county commissioners approved on Monday a contract with Port Hadlock-based Shold Excavating Inc., which bid $557,319.
Phase one of the trail is roughly 0.33 miles long, 10 feet wide and connects HJ Carroll Park to Old Hadlock Road.
Shold will be responsible for clearing and grading the trail, installing storm drains, rock walls and signs, and laying the trail surface.
According to Eric Kuzma, assistant public works director and engineering service manager for Jefferson County Public Works, construction is scheduled to begin next week and run through September.
According to a press release from the county Public Works Department, the work likely will cause some intermittent closures of the pedestrian loop at HJ Carroll Park and Old Hadlock Road could occasionally be partially shut down, according to a press release.
Kuzma said drivers will encounter some slowdowns as the road could potentially be restricted to one lane.
Currently no road or trail closures are scheduled. Kuzma said those ultimately will be up to the local contractors to decide.
The trail is funded by a grant from the state Department of Transportation, a Pedestrian &Bicycle Program grant and a federal Surface Transportation Program grant.
The federal grant, along with the environmental study that was conducted, were the reasons the trail’s construction was delayed until this year, according to Kuzma.
The trail has been discussed and planned since 2009 and, once completed, will connect HJ Carroll Park to the Bob Bates Little League Field in Port Hadlock and the Chimacum School.
The non-motorized trail will allow students to safely access local recreation areas without navigating state Highway 19 and other busy roads.
The trail also will include along its route educational plaques created by artist Mike Kowalski, which will provide information about local flora and fauna.
One plaque will be devoted to the trail’s namesake, Rick Tollefson, who helped create the county’s park committee in 1980 and served on the parks advisory board from 1989 until his death in 2007.
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Jefferson County Editor/Reporter Cydney McFarland can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 55052, or atcmcfarland@peninsuladailynews.com.
