Supervisors hear of bridge to Eagle Ridge


This is a graphic depiction of what a pedestrian bridge over the Des Moines River might look like. The bridge would connect the Cottonwood Trail in Humboldt to a public area in the Eagle Ridge Addition. Rendering courtesy of Bolton & Menk.

By Kent Thompson
County Conservation Director Todd Lee was at Monday’s Humboldt County Board of Supervisors meeting to tell the Board about a bold plan for the county in the future, in being able to connect existing trails to establish a countywide walking/running/biking trail system.
One of the projects would be to construct a pedestrian bridge from off of the Cottonwood Trail near the fish ponds, across the river and to the new Eagle Ridge housing development on the city of Humboldt’s west side.
Lee reported that lot 10, a low timbered area in the northeast corner of the development, encompassing 33 acres, was set aside as a public recreation project between Humboldt County Conservation, the city of Humboldt and the Humboldt County Housing Development Corp.
“The goal would be to connect the east side of the community to the west and provide recreational opportunities to the public, with an eventual connection from the Eagle Ridge public area to Joe Sheldon Park,” Lee said.
He said the rough cost for the bridge and associated improvements would be $1 million. He said there is interest in pursuing an $800,000 grant from the Iowa Department of Transportation for the project. Lee said the city has given a verbal commitment of $100,000 toward the project and asked the county if they would be willing to do the same.
Lee said the grant is due on April 13, but the funds would not be available until fiscal year 2022, so the county would have some time to collected matching funds. No decision was made. Lee said he would keep the Board informed of the progress of the grant.
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