The City of Ozark and its partners broke ground on a significant step in the Chadwick Flyer Trail Thursday morning.
Dozens of representatives from the city, Christian County, the Ozarks Transportation Organization, MoDOT, the Missouri Department of Economic Development and the public gathered on a hill along Highway 65 to celebrate the start of construction on a multi-modal pedestrian and bike bridge over the highway. The diversity of the attendees reflected the broad coalition that has cooperated on the Chadwick Flyer.
Public Works Director Jeremy Parsons thanked everyone involved, including landowners whose rights-of-way have helped make the trail system possible. Parsons said the bridge was a major step in completing the trail.
It’ll span over a section of Highway 65 near mile marker 39, just north of the Jackson Street exit to Ozark. Department of Economic Development Federal Initiatives Director Kim Froemsdorf described the project as part of a remarkable investment.
“It's a symbol,” she said, “of your community’s commitment to revitalization, quality of life and smart future focused growth.”
The bridge is part of Phase IV of construction, one of the biggest infrastructure hurdles in completing the planned 12-mile Chadwick Flyer Trail system, which will be nearly halfway finished when Phase IV wraps up.
Ozarks hopes to connect the network of trails to south Springfield with a vision for interconnectivity inspired by similar trail systems in Northwest Arkansas. They expect this phase of the project to be completed by Spring 2026.
The bridge is budgeted at $3.75 million by the city, it is funded by a $1.2 million ARPA grant from the Missouri Department of Economic Development, $1.5 million from the Ozarks Transportation Organization and money from the city and county including portions of a local transportation tax.