HUMBOLDT — After more than five years of planning and preparation, construction is underway for Humboldt’s “The Last Mile” trail.
The project will build a trail to connect downtown Humboldt to the Southwind Trailhead between B&W Trailer Hitches and the Base Camp recreation area.
It is funded by a $1.2 million grant from the Kansas Department of Transportation, awarded in 2019. The grant also paid for a parking lot at Base Camp, which was completed more than a year ago.
The project required cooperation between the City of Humboldt, Allen County and a private entity, A Bolder Humboldt.
Determining the path took the most time, as engineers with Wilson & Company of Kansas City, Mo., at one point wanted to reconfigure a triangular intersection at 8th, 9th and Franklin streets. County commissioners asked them to find another way.
The path begins at the trailhead near 14th Street, then travels west on Hawaii Road to 9th Street. From there it crosses 9th Street over to 8th and continues along the west side of the golf course. It crosses back over to 9th near Franklin and continues down the west side of 9th to downtown.
A push-button crossing will be added at the intersection of 9th and Hawaii, and the speed limit will be lowered north of Humboldt along the old highway.
The concrete path will be 8 feet wide except in residential areas, where it narrows to 5 feet.
At some point this spring, expect the intersection of 9th and Hawaii to be closed for a few days for construction, Beth Barlow with A Bolder Humboldt said.
The project is expected to wrap up this summer.
“I’m excited to finally see it start,” Barlow said. “I’m hopeful it will bring more folks from the trail to our downtown. It also provides a safer way to get around Humboldt for anyone walking or on bicycles.”
