MANSFIELD — Another step toward connecting the B&O Bike Trail to downtown Mansfield was approved by City Council on Tuesday evening.
Local lawmakers approved funding the $98,000 design of a 3,300-foot long concrete, multi-use path on the south side of Millsboro Road between Trimble Road and Marion Avenue.
City engineer Bob Bianchi told council the work would be funded by a $53,000 grant from the Richland County Regional Planning Commission and $65,000 from the city’s permissive sales tax.
Eventual construction of the 10-foot wide path would cost an estimated $1,010,000 — including a $808,000 grant from the planning commission and $202,000 from the permissive sales tax.
(Above is a downloadable PDF showing connections from the B&O Bike Trail that may one day lead into downtown Mansfield.)
Design and right-of-way acquisition is expected in 2023 and 2024. If council then approves construction, that work will be done in 2025, according to Bianchi.
“This project would be very similar to what you see on Cook and Trimble roads, a 10-foot-wide path made of concrete with a grass buffer strip from the road,” he said.
“We have an opportunity to get some grant dollars for both the design and the construction,” Bianchi told council.
The vote came even as design work continues on a $1.75 million connector from the bike trail to Trimble Road. That project is being funded by $500,000 in American Rescue Plan Act money from the City of Mansfield, $500,000 in ARPA from Richland County, $150,000 in state capital funds and $600,000 through RCRPC.
That design work is expected to be completed in October 2024 with construction finished in August 2025.
Bianchi said Tuesday night he hopes to have another connector along Trimble Road, between Marion Avenue and Millsboro Road, completed by 2028. That would fully connect the bike trail to the Mansfield Art Center.
“The plan will be to continue the trail along Marion to the five-way light near downtown,” Bianchi said. “And then continue along Park Avenue into the downtown, most likely ending at Mulberry or Walnut streets.
“The Marion Avenue stretch will be challenging and will take creative planning to make it work,” he said.
The engineer told council members he thinks RCRPC will supply the funds for the construction.
“The technical advisory committee through regional planning has seen this project. The staff at regional planning really supports this project. It (will go) to the full commission. Some of you are on that commission.
“Historically, the projects that come to the full commission from the technical advisory committee get funded. So I really believe we have a great opportunity here to get 80 percent grant funds for this project,” Bianchi said.
4th Ward Councilman Alomar Davenport asked what would happen if RCRPC doesn’t award the construction grant.
Bianchi said, “We would delay it or we would pursue potential other grant funding. But this is the best source that we can use for this project and we’ll start there.”
