Construction begins on Kewash Trail

By John Butters, GTNS News

Work has at last begun on a project that will pave a portion of the Kewash Trail near Highway 1 and a trail spur traveling north to Lexington Boulevard.

When completed in November, the $600,000 project will provide residents with a paved trail from Washington's Sunset Park to a trailhead near the Kirkwood College Campus.

On Tuesday, trucks and earth-moving equipment were busy removing unwanted brush along the Kewash and carving a trail bed through the hillside north of Willow pond. The spur will circle Willow Pond and cross its earthen dam before heading north to Lexington Avenue. DeLong Construction is the contractor for the work.

The new paving will be a great benefit for Washington's bikers and hikers, said Washington County Conservation Board Executive Director Steve Anderson. 'The paved trail will expand the user base. There are groups that are not capable of riding or walking on the crushed limestone. This will offer them more recreational opportunities. Additionally, a crushed rock trail can be soft at certain times of the year. The pavement will provide a firm base for cyclists and walkers,” he said.

The new paving will extend about one-half mile from the west side of Highway 1 to a spot nearly 100 yards beyond Willow Pond Park. The newly paved spur will travel from Willow Park Pond to a location about a quarter of a mile north near Lexington Boulevard.

Washington County Conservation Board members began developing a plan for the project in February 2016. They met with both City of Washington and county officials to develop a trail they hoped would create a paved path from Sunset Park to just west of Willow Pond County Park. As the plan developed, the board saw an opportunity to secure sufficient funding for a paved spur from Willow Pond Park to the Kirkwood Campus.

Working with Washington city officials and government entities the board obtained grants from the state's Transportation Alternative Program (TAP) of $342,000, the state's Resource Enhancement And Protection (REAP) fund for $100,000, a $1200,000 Washington County Riverboat Foundation grant and matching funds from the city and Washington Conservation Board for $60,000 each.

Anderson said the board had a lot of cooperation on the project. 'The cooperation from the city was just excellent. They have been great to work with. Also the Washington County Engineering Department has been wonderful to work with, very helpful,” he said.

Anderson said he expects the project to be completed in November, barring weather delays.

Work on the Kewash trail includes not only resurfacing the trail bed, but improving drainage by deepening the ditches along side the trail and reducing the slope of the incline. 'The goal is to keep water off the trail and also to help water flow from the trail,” he said.

In a separate but related project, contractor LL Pelling will soon begin placing an asphalt overlay on the already paved in-city portion of the Kewash Trail that connects Sunset Park with the trailhead parking lot on Fifth Avenue in Washington.

That work is being done to smooth the trail and eliminate potholes in the existing asphalt.

The Conservation Board is asking trail users to avoid the construction areas for safety reasons. The construction areas are marked with orange barricades and fences.