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Long-delayed rail trail project appears back on track

The stretch from Eighth Street and Church Avenue to Fairfield Avenue may win approval after arsenic concerns almost killed it.

By MOLLY MOORHEAD
Published July 12, 2006

DADE CITY - A 1-mile exercise and recreation trail, a project nearly derailed last year by environmental hazards, is closer to becoming a reality.

City commissioners are set to approve the closure of several spots along the trail to vehicular traffic. That will clear the way for the state Department of Transportation to begin paving the trail, which lies on an old railroad bed.

The board held a public hearing Tuesday and continued it to its July 25 meeting to allow residents to voice their opinions and concerns.

Barring other delays, officials hope the project will be completed by the end of the year.

"We are rapidly approaching what we think will soon be the actual groundbreaking ... which you know has been a long time coming," Assistant City Manager Laura Beagles told the board.

Part of the state's Rails to Trails program, it would start at Eighth Street and Church Avenue, cross Howard and Florida avenues, and end at Fairfield Avenue. About $300,000 in state grant money has been allocated to construct it. When completed, it would become a city-maintained park.

The project nearly died last year because of concerns about arsenic, a poison commonly used by railroads to kill vegetation along train tracks. But a state-level change in environmental regulations put it back on track.

Looking ahead, the city hopes to acquire another stretch from Church Avenue to Lock Street, and ultimately connect it to the southern end of the 46-mile Withlacoochee Trail in Trilby.

In other news Tuesday, commissioners approved a $69,000 settlement with a construction company that performed work at the wastewater treatment plant.

R. Roese Contracting Co. Inc. of Tampa, in a lawsuit filed in 2004, claimed the city repeatedly changed its construction plans and delayed work, preventing the contractor from taking other jobs. The city paid Roese about $1.3-million for work done at the plant. The suit demanded an additional $209,000.

The city will pay the settlement with reserve contingency funds. City Attorney Karla Owens said leftover state grant money obtained to fund the work at the plant might also be available.

[Last modified July 12, 2006, 07:09:05]