As North Liberty continues to rapidly grow, new construction has continuously been popping up around Liberty. One of the more exciting projects for students is the paved bike trail that is set to be completed by the end of the summer.
The project includes the trail, which will run along Penn Street and North Liberty Road. It will provide an easy route to the north side of town, where more residential developments have begun, and it will become a main access route to the school.
It also includes creating a crosswalk to the Red Fern Dog Park, which will allow dog owners to safely walk to the park and increase access to recreational activities. The crosswalk features pedestrian-activated flashing yellow lights to notify drivers of people entering it.
Josiah Bilskemper has worked within Shive-Hattery, an architecture and engineering company, to plan, design, construct and obtain funding for this project.
“Our involvement in this project started with planning work in 2016. At that time, North Liberty Road was a narrow gravel road, and Liberty High School was [still] under construction,” said Bilskemper.
Since the start of the project, the infrastructure in North Liberty has rapidly developed and turned what was once a gravel road into a hub of suburban growth. This development has made the construction of this project a priority. As the work gets underway, there will be more developments beginning in North Liberty, which will collaborate with this project to further the city’s expansion.
The trail is set to be completed by the end of this summer, so students and their families will be able to utilize it for transportation to school and all areas of North Liberty in the next school year.
“Construction work on the trail project started this spring and will continue through the summer. If all goes well, the new paved trail will be open and ready for use early this fall,” said Bilskemper.
