The $1.35 million North Street extension project is finally gaining steam after a nearly two-year delay caused by insecure financing, high concrete prices and an uncertain route for the Perry-to-Woodward connector bike trail.
The project extends North Street from 16th Street to 18th Street and also includes a bike trail connecting Wiese Park to the long-anticipated connector trail along the old railroad right of way east of 18th Street.
Perry City Administrator Sven Peterson reported to the Perry City Council in November that 30,000 yards of dirt have been hauled away from the North Street site and taken to area of the brownfield west of Perry.
Grading on the project continues, and water mains and storm sewers are now being installed along the new road.
The Perry City Council approved last February the sale of $2.7 million in general obligation bonds, part of which pays for the city’s portion of the North Street project.
Eighty percent of the project’s costs are covered by Surface Transportation Program funds, which are U.S. Department of Transportation dollars administered by the Central Iowa Regional Transportation and Planning Alliance.
Perry Mayor Jay Pattee said he is pleased to see progress on a project that he remembers first discussing in 2002 when he was a member of the Perry City Council.
Fundraising for the connector trail has been ongoing for nearly 20 years with the Hiawatha Classic bicycle ride, but the recent Let’s Connect fundraising campaign has given the project renewed impetus.
The Perry-to-Woodward link trail will connect central Iowa’s two most popular cycling routes and tourist attractions, the Raccoon River Valley Trail and the High Trestle Trail, and Perry will have trail heads for both trails.
