BATTLE MOUNTAIN - The pedestrian bridge project in Battle Mountain is moving along, said Judie Allan, vice chair of the Lander County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC).
The bridge would go from near Eleanor Lemaire Elementary School over Interstate 80 to somewhere along Broyles Ranch Road.
"We're moving forward on the project," Allan said. "We're excited about this project and we believe it is going to be a good asset for the county and the school children."
The July 25 meeting of the board focused on finding a qualified design/build engineer for the project, Allan said. In addition to Allan, the board also consists of Patsy Waits and Brian Garner, who is the chair.
Lander County commissioners approved $3 million out of the FY 2013-14 budget for the bridge.
The $3 million added to the $1.3 million projected to be in the RTC's FY 2013-14 budget allows for a total of $4.3 million to go toward the project. Allan said she may find out the exact amount of the RTC's FY 2013-14 budget at the September meeting. No money has been spent on the project so far, Allan added.
Allan said the project could cost a maximum of $5 million but the goal is to stay within the $4.3 million budget. If it exceeds that amount, Allan said the board will look into seeking other funding.
The purpose of the bridge is to keep school children from crossing the Highway 305 overpass which is becoming increasingly congested, Allan said. It would also provide a way to get back to town from Lemaire Elementary School if Highway 305 were to ever be closed down for some reason.
"It's just kind of safety for the children and hopefully to keep them away from the Highway 305 intersection," Allan said. "The response we have been getting has been very positive. There's people that have commented that this should have happened years ago. Our board firmly believes that this is a very important project. It would definitely get used. We are just trying to prevent anything from happening. Are you going to wait until something happens before you do something?"
The two routes that are being examined for the bridge are from the east side of the soccer field next to Lemaire Elementary School to behind Fireworks Planet on Broyles Ranch Road or from west of the soccer field to somewhere near the big water tank.
The project first surfaced at an RTC meeting in March 2012. Garner came up with the idea of a pedestrian bridge and Allan and Ray Williams, Jr., who was on the RTC board at the time, agreed it was a good idea, Allan recalled.
No timeline has been set yet for the project. It is unknown at this point how long the bridge will be. Allan said it will have to conform to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards.
Allan said funding for the RTC comes from the tax on fuel sold within the county and the money has to go toward public safety projects.
The RTC meets at 3 p.m. on the fourth Thursday of most months in the county commission chambers inside the Lander County Courthouse. The meetings are open to the public and public input is welcome, Allan said.
[[In-content Ad]]
