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Bike path to be widened on
Arsenal Island
By Dustin Lemmon | QC Times Monday, March 17, 2008
The sidewalk on the west end of Arsenal Island isn't wide enough to safely
accommodate passing bicycle and pedestrian traffic crossing the island.
This summer the Arsenal and city of Rock Island will
widen the pathway to 10 feet to finish the second phase of a project to
connect recreational trails on the Illinois and Iowa sides of the river.
The first phase placed a pedestrian bridge across the Sylvan Slough in 2005.
The widening will stretch from that bridge to the Government Bridge along
24th Street and Fort Armstrong Avenue. It should take most of the summer to
complete, officials said.
"I think this is going to help quite a bit and avoid some of the congestion
down there," said Rick Wren, a bicyclist who rides the route every day from
Rock Island to his job at East Genesis Medical
Center in
Davenport.
Wren said the 5-foot-wide sidewalk makes the stretch dangerous when
bicyclists and pedestrians meet.
Rock Island City Engineer Jim Johnson said the project will cost about
$300,000. The Arsenal will contribute $134,000, the Illinois Department of
Natural Resources $134,500 and the remainder will be covered by what is left
of money used to build the pedestrian bridge.
"It will make it safer to use," Johnson said of the path.
Rich Todd, lead civil engineer for the Arsenal, said the new path will have
two 5-foot-wide lanes and will be made of asphalt, except for a small
portion next to the building near the Government Bridge, which will be
widened but will remain concrete.
Several items will be moved to accommodate the widening, including some
cannons, which already have been placed in a local museum. Todd said the
cannons turned out to be more valuable and historic than originally thought.
Street lights will be moved to the opposite side of the road near the train
tracks, and a historical fence will be pushed back, Todd said. An art piece
along the path will not be moved because the trail widening already was
factored in when it was put up about 10 years ago, he added.
"A retaining wall will be placed near the traffic light for the 24th Street
gate entrance, and a small plaza with a picnic area and barrier wall will be
constructed near the Government Bridge," Todd said.
The construction, which should start in late spring and could last until
fall, will be an inconvenience for those using the trail, Todd noted, but he
expects people to appreciate the work when it's done.
"People will love this," he said.
Wren said he doesn't mind putting up with the construction.
"It's such a short period of time for the payback," he said.
Dustin Lemmon can be contacted at (563) 383-2493 or dlemmon@qctimes.com.
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