Lovers of the outdoors will be able to travel between Jamestown Reservoir and Jamestown in relative comfort by Sept. 3. Work on the shared use path connecting the two points starts next week with staking, said Steve Thompson, project engineer with Interstate Engineering.
A preconstruction meeting Tuesday with Border States Paving, Jamestown, set June 1 as the beginning of landscaping and tree planting along the path's right of way. Burr oak trees and bushes will be planted. Thompson said he expects staking the path's route to begin Wednesday.
"There is a good probability the Bureau (of Reclamation) may replant the area to native grasses to more closely resemble native prairie," Thompson said.
The shared use path is a little more than a mile long and will be asphalt except where it connects to 19th Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues northeast. Concrete is planned at the juncture, he said. Most of the path will remain open during construction, except for a brief period of time at an intersection near the U.S. Game and Fish building while it's being reconstructed.
The path will be laid past the BMX track, Central Dakota Village and the Game and Fish building, Thompson said.
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The path is to be shared by walkers, bicyclists and people in wheelchairs, he said.
"It's designed to get close to an intermittent wetland and a ridge close to a wooded draw," Thompson said. While he wouldn't guarantee sightings of birds and wildlife, he said the potential exists for people to see some of the local wildlife.
Sun staff reporter David Maack can be reached at (701) 952-8454 or by e-mail at js@jamestownsun.com
