The City of Ridgeland made steps forward in its last board meeting to expand its trail system and give more areas of the city accessibility to the trails.
If Ridgeland’s application to the Jackson Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) Transportation Alternative (TA) Program is approved, a two phase project called the Steed Road Multi-use Path Connector will be underway.
Ridgeland’s Public Works Director Alan Hart said the first phase of the project is adding a segment of trail from Red Eagle Circle to Purple Creek, which they are hoping to fund entirely with local funds. The second phase of the project would be where the city is hoping to use funding through the MPO.
“The second phase is a series of segments from Purple Creek to Sunnybrook Road, and from Steed Road to Southtowne Avenue,” Hart said. “Upon completion, the residents of Old Agency Village will have access to our vast trail network. These trails connect to schools, parks, shopping, and dining locations throughout the city.”
This multi-use path would be 0.42 miles long and 10 feet wide – connecting Holmes Community College to the trail system, which runs along Highland Colony Parkway, as well as Township at Colony Park, Trustcare Health, and the Renaissance. The project would also include the installation of a bridge as well as landscaping, signage, benches, bike racks and trash receptacles.
The project application requests $894,425 in Federal TA funding. This amount will fund 70 percent of the eligible construction costs for the project. The City of Ridgeland will provide up to an amount of $485,325 for local matching funds and all TA non-eligible project costs, which includes items like preliminary engineering costs. The announcement of the MPO funding awards should be made in May of this year.
“Our mayor and board of aldermen have been committed to building out this great asset in our city, and we are working to make as many neighborhood connections as we can,” Hart said. “If the City of Ridgeland is successful in getting the grant, we anticipate beginning design immediately and hopefully be under construction in 2024.”
