Ground can now break on the construction of a pedestrian pathway along Bridge Access Road following the approval of a contract between the City of Kenai and the State of Alaska by the Kenai City Council during their Aug. 4 meeting.

The pathway, once constructed, would run 1.2 miles from where Bridge Access Road intersects with Beaver Loop Road to where Bridge Access Road intersects with the Kenai Spur Highway.

Specifically, the resolution approved by the council allows Kenai City Manager Paul Ostrander to enter into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT). An MOA is a document written between parties to work together on an agreed upon project, according to the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Nearly $3 million was approved for the program via a grant offered through the Alaska Transportation Alternatives program, which requires a local funding match from the City of Kenai. That local match was initially estimated to be about $216,000 dollars but was increased to just under $300,000 as the project progressed.

According to the legislation passed by the council last week, the MOA will give DOT the authority to plan, design and construct the pathway using both federal funds and city matching funds, with the City of Kenai agreeing to maintain the project once it is constructed.

“The construction of a pedestrian pathway will provide enhanced recreational opportunities for the citizens and visitors of Kenai,” wrote Kenai City Manager Paul Ostrander in a July 26 memo to the Kenai City Council.

More information about the project can be found on the City of Kenai’s website at kenai.city.

Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.