Sidewalks to be installed on Business 54

Funds from the Missouri Department of Transportation will help extend the sidewalk along Business 54 from Westminster Avenue to Collier Lane.
Funds from the Missouri Department of Transportation will help extend the sidewalk along Business 54 from Westminster Avenue to Collier Lane.

With the help of Missouri Department of Transportation funds, the City of Fulton hopes to soon install sidewalks along both sides of Business 54 between Collier Lane and Westminster Avenue.

With the addition of this stretch, pedestrians will be able to stick to the sidewalk all the way from Sonic Drive-In to the Fulton Oriental Store.

During Tuesday night's Fulton City Council meeting, council members unanimously passed a resolution and the first reading of an ordinance authorizing the mayor to apply for MoDOT's Transportation Alternatives Program and Cost-Share Program.

"This is two years in the making," said Jeff Stone, Ward 2 city council member.

Previously, city interim engineer Kyle Bruemmer explained, the city had applied for funds to complete this same project. MoDOT rejected its application at the time because of another project already underway on the same stretch of road - MoDOT thought of the project as more of a "roadway project," and thus outside the purview of the Transportation Alternative Funds, which focuses on non-motorized transport.

This year, city officials have already spoken to MoDOT about the project and Bruemmer seemed confident the project would move forward this time.

"I didn't think MoDOT would have (these grants) this year, but I guess there's enough funds," Bruemmer said.

The TAP funds will pay for 80 percent of the cost of installing a sidewalk and building a curb and gutter on the east side of the road. Work on the west side of the road, and any improvements associated with the road rather than the sidewalk, will fall under the Cost-Share Program, with MoDOT paying half.

"The Business 54 Collier to Westminster Avenue Improvements Project will increase motorist and pedestrian safety, promote pedestrian transportation, improve aesthetics and encourage economic development in the City of Fulton through improved infrastructure," the ordinance read Tuesday states.

Google Maps puts the distance between Collier and Westminster at about .2 miles.

City employees calculated the maximum amount Fulton will pay for the project is $275,000.

The ordinance associated with the project must undergo two more readings and a final vote during future city council meetings, which council members can complete by the time the application is due in late January.

City council members are already eyeing other stretches of road that could benefit from sidewalks, with Fourth Ward council member Bob Washington pointing to the section of North Business 54 around Fulton High School.