By Curmugeon
Amidst all the gnashing of teeth and garment-rending going on, thought I'd just mention a good news story in Wednesday morning's Standard-Examiner:
Groovin' on Safety / Ogden Canyon underpass connects trails off the highway.
From Mr. Schwebke's story:
Installation of [a 128-foot-long [pedestrian underpass beneath busy State Road 39 ]... is scheduled to be completed this week at the mouth of Ogden Canyon adjacent to Rainbow Gardens. The tunnel will enable hikers to reach the Ogden River Parkway, Birdsong, Rainbow and Bonneville Shoreline trails without having to dodge cars while crossing State Road 39....A parking lot with space for 20 vehicles will be built next to the tunnel entrance. A 90-foot-long bridge across the Ogden River has already been installed as part of the underpass project.... The tunnel should be open in mid-October once retaining walls are built.The project, the story reports, is being paid for by RAMP funds, a state grant and money from Weber Pathways. And it could not have happened without the help of the Ogden City government which arranged a land-swap between Ogden and Rainbow Gardens needed to make the project possible, Schwebke reports. And the city is helping pay for other trail improvements along the river:
Work has also been completed on a separate project to install a 64-foot-long concrete tunnel underneath railroad tracks near Exchange Road and the Ogden Kayak Park on the Weber River, Wallace said. The project will enable hikers and bikers to go from Rainbow Gardens to Fort Buenaventura, which is about 10 miles away. The $142,000 tunnel will connect to the Weber River Parkway and is being funded by state and city funds.Thanks due to the city Administration, the Council, the County [for the RAMP funds], the voters [who approved the RAMP tax], to the state and to Weber Pathways, all of whom played roles in making these projects happen. Good things do happen in Ogden when people find projects about which they agree and can work together to bring about. There is common ground on which the Administration and Ogdenites who often oppose Administration-backed projects [myself among them] can stand. It would be useful, I think, and good for Ogden for the Administration and Administration critics find more of that common ground, or to try to create it.
