Culver Town Manager Ginny Bess Munroe updated the town council members last week on the next phases of the Lake Max Trail.
Phase two includes a one-mile extension of the trail from the Culver Park to Washington Street, Plymouth Street and South Main Street. Munroe said the letting of this project found construction costs to be $26,000 over budget which did not include additional contingency funding.
Munroe stated, “So, we went back to the CRC [Culver Redevelopment Commission] who is doing the match on this and said, ‘hey, we’re likely to be over budget. Are you willing to cover that gap, or do you want us to adjust the scope of the project?’ The CRC has agreed to pay up to an additional $100,000 to cover that. That should be more than enough to cover contingencies on the gap.”
Additionally, the width of the trail on South Main Street may be reduced from 10 feet to eight feet which would reduce the construction cost. Mike Reese from The Troyer Group is checking with INDOT to ensure that is allowable.
As for the third phase of the Lake Max Trail, an agreement is still pending with the Culver Academies regarding terms of easements being used for the redesigned trail. The route would go from the Culver Town Park to the old railroad corridor, across State Road 10 to Sycamore Road, east to 16C, and then 16C back toward State Road 10. Part of the agreement would include shared cost of engineering and survey work for the new design. Recently, Culver Redevelopment Commission members agreed to put forth up to $30,000 for the town’s portion of the shared costs.
