PORT TOWNSEND — The Jefferson County commissioners have approved an agreement and awarded a bid for construction on the Rick Tollefson Memorial Trail.
The non-motorized trail is meant to connect Bob Bates Little League Field in Port Hadlock to HJ Carroll Park and then on to Chimacum School, connecting the schools to the recreation areas without the need to walk along busy roads.
The first phase would create a trail between HJ Carroll Park and Old Hadlock Road.
At Monday’s meeting the commissioners approved the first step for the trail, a materials testing and inspection for the trail route.
The commissioners approved a maximum payment of $8,849 to Krazan &Associates Inc. from Poulsbo for the job.
Krazan &Associates will be responsible for material and onsite compaction testing and welding inspection on a bridge crossing Chimacum Creek along the first phase of the trail.
Work is expected to start sometime between today and July 5 and wrap up on Oct. 31 and will be paid for through the county road fund.
The commissioners also approved a $557,319 bid from Shold Excavating Inc. of Port Hadlock for the excavation and clearing for phase one of the trail.
The work includes clearing and grading the trail, installing storm drains, installing rock walls along partitions of the trail, laying trail surfacing, installing signs and constructing the pedestrian bridge over Chimacum Creek.
Shold’s bid was the lowest, according to Monday’s agenda, coming in well under the $652,674 estimated low value of the project. Phase one of the project will be paid for primarily through the state Pedestrian/Bicycle Safety Funds, local funds and federal funds.
Currently the commissioners do not have a set date for when Shold will begin its work on the trail, however it is also expected to be completed this fall.
The trail has been discussed and planned since 2009 and is to memorialize Tollefson, who in 1980 helped create the county’s park committee and served on the Parks Advisory Board from 1989 until his death in 2007.
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Jefferson County Editor/Reporter Cydney McFarland can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 55052, or at cmcfarland@peninsuladailynews.com.
