Second phase of Hubble Creek Trail expansion underway

Construction of the second phase of the Hubble Creek Recreation Trail expansion project is underway in Jackson.

Jackson public works staff engineer Erica Bogenpohl said Friday forms for the trail have been set, but crews were taking cues from the weather before pouring the concrete.

The project is the second of two phases to add nearly 8,000 feet to the trail.

The extension, which will run from Jackson City Park to the Jackson Civic Center at 381 Deerwood Drive, will be a 4,600-foot path eight feet wide with safety lighting and crosswalks.

The first phase, which ran from West Washington Street to West Jackson Boulevard, was finished earlier this year.

Eighty percent of the current phase's costs are being covered by a grant from the Missouri Department of Transportation through its Transportation Alternatives program.

All construction will take place on existing public easements and city-owned park land.

When the plan first was approved in January, Jackson public works director Rodney Bollinger said the expansion will bring the city closer to completing of its overall designs for the trail.

The trail's final form is slated to include a dog park north of Jackson Civic Center and connect Brookside Park with Jackson City Park, running about three miles in all.

Despite recent heavy rain, the city also completed a number of non-recreational concrete projects last week as part of its 2016 Concrete Pavement Improvement Program.

The annual maintenance project, Bogenpohl said, took place at several locations around the city.

"Areas of significant [repair] quantities include Oak Street, Lee Avenue, West Jackson Trail, North Ohio Street, South Donna Drive and Cathy Drive," Bogenpohl said.

The program included installing tee pads at the Litz Park disc golf course and upgrades connected to band shell renovations.

tgraef@semissourian.com

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