Paving is complete on the rerouted portion of the Raccoon River Valley Trail north of the Tyson Fresh Meats plant in Perry, and trail users have a good view on ongoing expansion at the local pork plant.
The northward relocation of the bike trail is part of a larger expansion of Tyson’s footprint at the Perry facility. Moving the bike trail northward gives Tyson’s semi-tractor trailers more room to back into the loading docks on the north side of the Tyson factory.
Ongoing work suggests Tyson has a long-term stake in the Perry plant. New construction is happening on the north side of the Tyson plant, and the company is in the middle of a $23 million upgrade to the site’s wastewater treatment plant.
A statement from Tyson said the new wastewater facility has “the latest wastewater treatment technology. The project will provide additional treatment capacity to meet future requirements and is expected to be completed this fall.”
Suresh Kumar, an environmental engineer with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, said Tyson was “very proactive” in upgrading its Perry wastewater treatment plant starting in 2013, about five years sooner than U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulations would have required it.
Kumar said the upgrade in the Perry plant is needed because “production is going up.”
Tyson Fresh Meats currently employs about 1,100 people at the Perry plant and processes about 8,500 hogs daily.
[…] where an $23 million upgraded wastewater treatment facility on the plant’s west side and new construction on the plant’s north side is now being complemented by eastward expansion for truck […]