The towns of Clifton Park and Halfmoon might be side by side, but because of the Northway the communities are somewhat disconnected, especially for pedestrians and bicyclists.
That situation is about to be remedied by a planned inter-municipal trail on Crescent Road that will allow pedestrian and bicycle access to the Exit 8 commercial area, the Park and Ride, and Okte Elementary School in Clifton Park.
Clifton Park Supervisor Phil Barrett said he is glad to see motion on the project, which has been in the works since 2003. Grants will cover the majority of the cost.
“We’re excited to take the opportunity to improve our trail system in the southern part of the town,” said Barrett. “The trail will provide safe travel for pedestrians leading from Okte School eastward to the Town of Halfmoon. It’s an inter-municipal partnership between Halfmoon and Clifton Park. We were very pleased to receive such a large grant to make this possible.”
The trail, which will be 1.6 miles long when finished, will start in Clifton Park near Okte Elementary and continue along Crescent Road, ending at Dunsbach Road in Halfmoon. It will be a combination of an 8-foot-wide multi-use trail and sidewalks, and will utilize an already existing overpass in order to connect the two towns. A challenge will be providing safe passage over the Northway on a road that also sees heavy vehicle traffic.
“We are continuing to work hard with NYS DOT and our engineering consultants to finalize designs for the best and safest pedestrian crossing over the Northway,” said Barb McHugh, director of community development in Clifton Park. “We want to provide a much greater degree of safety.”
The trail construction will also require passage across some private property along the way, and details on easements are still being finalized.
“We’re working very closely with all property owners to make sure everything is done correctly to minimize impacts to their properties,” said McHugh.
The project will receive up to $688,000 in federal money through the Transportation Improvement program, in particular through the Congestion Mitigation Air Quality fund. According to McHugh, this funding can be tapped when part of a project includes alternative means of transportation that will reduce congestion and improve the air quality.
“If we provide safe, walkable opportunities, we hope people will use them,” said McHugh.
In addition to the federal money, Clifton Park will also receive an additional $49,000 in state money and each town will contribute 10 percent of the total project cost.
The project has taken some time to come to fruition largely due to lengthy federal and state grant applications. Projects have to wait for their turn to come up and for funding to be allocated. Because of the length of time the project waited for funding allocation, the project experienced a temporary underfunding gap.
MJ Engineers, the engineers for the project, determined that material and labor costs had risen between 25 and 30 percent since 2003. They also identified a need for additional consulting and professional service to help guide through the right-of-way process not included in the initial project estimates and budget.
“We recognized that one part of the project did not have enough funding, so we were able to get an additional $56,000 from federal highway funds to bridge that gap,” said McHugh
Construction is tentatively scheduled for summer 2013 pending final design approval from the state.