Spoofhound Trail links pedestrian pathways
TONY BROWN/DAILY FORUM
Andrew Spire of Andrew Spire Construction, foreground, and Mike Pope of Pope Dirt Work began moving earth this week in preparation for construction of the Spoofhound Trail, a paved hiking/biking corridor that will connect similar paths running between Maryville High School and St. Francis Hospital and north and south along South Munn Avenue.
It’s going to be a few weeks yet before it’s finished, but work has begun on the latest addition to the City of Maryville’s paved pedestrian/bicycle trail system.
The new leg is known as the Spoofhound Trail and will serve as a connecting link between an existing trail segment stretching between St. Francis Hospital and the rear of the Maryville High School campus and a similar path running north to south along South Munn Avenue.
When completed the 860-foot Spoofhound Trail will run east to west along the north edge of the MHS campus. The entire project is located on property owned by the Maryville R-II School District.
General Contractor Andrew Spire Construction, with an assist from Pope Dirt Work, began grading the trail route earlier this week. Under its contract with the city, Spire has 45 working days to complete the project, though that schedule could lengthen in the event of bad weather.
The completed 8-foot-wide trail will include storm drainage infrastructure and is being built in accordance with federal American with Disabilities Act guidelines.
When finished, the trail, taken together with the existing walking paths to the east and west, will comprise a traffic-free pedestrian corridor more than a mile and a half long providing access to the high school, Maryville Middle School, the Crestview subdivision, and other residential neighborhoods.
Designed by Snyder & Associates in accordance with Missouri Department of Transportation requirements, the new trail is mostly being paid for with federal Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) funds ultimately allocated by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Total construction cost is $84,500, eighty percent of which — or $67,600 — will come from TAP money. The remaining $16,900 consists of municipal funds in the form of a 20 percent local match.
Created in 2013, the Transportation Alternatives Program provides federal funds for eligible state initiatives designed, among other things, to improve or expand off-road pedestrian and bicycle facilities, non-driver access to public transportation, recreational trails, and safe access to schools.
It replaces a number of earlier grant sources, including Transportation Enhancements, Recreational Trails, Safe Routes to School, and Scenic Byways, combining those allocations into a single funding pool.
Maryville used both Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School funding to help pay for earlier segments of its growing pedestrian trail network.
