Work is underway to replace the east-west pathway through the middle of Phelps Grove Park.
This week, workers were busy pouring cement for the new trail. It's wider than the old one and runs from Clay Avenue to Brookside Drive. It will be part of a multi-use trail connection along the Fassnight Creek Greenway.
Plans call for the new path to have a bike repair station, ADA ramps for people living with disabilities — and connections to shared bike lanes on Brookside Drive via a new pedestrian bridge.
Springfield-Greene County Parks spokesperson Jenny Filmer Edwards said bikes will be allowed on the new wider section of trail. Motorized vehicles are not allowed on Ozark Greenway trails, according to the Greenway website.
Filmer said bikes, skates and scooters will still not be allowed on the walking loop around the park.
An on-road connection links the new path to the Fassnight Creek Greenway that passes under Bennett, Jefferson and Campbell streets, goes through Fassnight Park and currently ends near the Springfield Skate Park west of Grant Avenue. The trail will eventually connect to the Jordan Creek and Wilson’s Creek Greenways.
The trail project is funded through federal Transportation Alternative Program grants, with the City of Springfield funding a 20-percent match through the 1/8-cent transportation sales tax that the city renewed in 2019.
The cost to replace the existing asphalt trail through Phelps Grove Park is roughly $68,000, according to City of Springfield Public Works project manager Joe Hamp. The total contract amount to construct the project is $459,895.
The city expects to complete construction sometime in February 2023, but Hamp said they may have to pause work on the pedestrian bridge due to winter weather, then resume it in the spring.
