Trail Sections

BikeNet Newsletter

Descro Park

03.01.2003
Simultaneous to the trail project, Central Ave. was also being widened and as part of that project a bike/pedestrian crossing was built to accommodate an at-grade, mid block crossing of Central by the BBWA canal. As we continue to expand on this corridor both to the south and towards downtown, it will be a major alternate transportation corridor in the trail network.

03.01.2003
JTL has begun construction on the Descro Park Trail project. This trail section will run from Broadwater to Central along the unimproved parkland just south of the BBWA (Billings Bench Water Association) canal. As part of the project, JTL has already installed a new bridge that will connect the trail to Meadowlark School over the canal. The foundation and bridge needed to be installed between October and April, while the canal was empty of water. Once the weather clears and the frost is out of the ground the construction of the trail will begin. Since this segment is only about a half mile long, it will only take a few days to complete with the paving machine.

Central Ave. is scheduled to be widened in this area. As part of the street re-construction, a refuge island with bike/pedestrian crossing will be added to provide a safer at grade crossing from Descro Park to Stewart Park across Central.

The Descro Park Neighborhood is also pursuing an SID (Special Improvement District) to develop the park and create an irrigated greenway with trees and benches to help improve the aesthetics of the land and neighborhood. The trail and park development will be a great asset to this area.

02.19.2003
Early this spring, construction began on the Descro Park Trail which also included a new bridge crossing over the BBWA canal for access to Meadowlark School.

The trail extends from Broadwater over to Central Ave. and the majority of the project is being funded through a Land and Water Conservation Grant for $75,000 and matching dollars from the 1999 GO Bond. We also received supplemental funding of $10,000 from Bikes Belong, $5,800 from School District #2 for the bridge, $545 from Fannie Mae, and $5,000 from the BikeNet, Ales for Trails Event.

This trail was built through an existing neighborhood, so it will provide connections to parklands, schools, retirement centers, residential housing, churches, professional offices and retail business centers. There is an intergenerational program between Central Court Village (a retirement home) and Meadowlark School and the trail is positioned so it provides a connection between the two facilities. The trail has already experienced high use, even as it was being built.

Simultaneous to the trail project, Central Ave. was also being widened and as part of that project a bike/pedestrian crossing was built to accommodate an at-grade, mid block crossing of Central by the BBWA canal. As we continue to expand on this corridor both to the south and towards downtown, it will be a major alternate transportation corridor in the trail network.

01.30.2003
The City of Billings applied for a Land and Water Conservation Grant for $75,000 for the development of a trail in Descro Park which is a section of undeveloped land between Central Ave. and Broadwater Ave. along the east side of the BBWA canal. This grant requires a 50% match which will come from the 1999 November GO Bond. Earlier this year we received word that Billings had been chosen to receive the grant funding for this project. This was great news because the Descro Neighborhood Task Force had been formed last year to develop the parks in their area and also to bring the trail system through the parkland. This corridor is delineated in the BikeNet plan and ultimately it will connect these neighborhoods to the entire network of trails throughout our community including the Rimrocks and the Yellowstone River. Michael Sanderson with Engineering, Inc. has been hired to design the trail corridor and a safe on-street crossing of both Central Ave. and Broadwater Ave. It is hoped that this design for the street crossings will be the footprint for additional arterial street crossings so pedestrians, bicyclists and motor vehicle traffic will recognize and adhere to these traffic safety measures where the trail crosses other busy streets. As part of this project we are also looking at replacing the canal bridge that will connect the trail system with Meadowlark School and Millice Park. Depending on the timing, this project could still see construction later this fall, but probably will occur next spring. We have also applied for a CTEP grant for continuation of this trail corridor from Cental Ave. to King Ave. What a great connection that will make to schools, businesses and parks.

Darlene Tussing

Alternate Modes Coordinator

City of Billings