Work Continues on the Trail

Crews are continuing work on North Lake Avenue Trail. On the north end of the trail, they are working to move a water line and create new manholes. Rain gardens will also be built in this area.

Here, a worker digs near the existing manhole and pipe line

On the south end of the project, the ground is prepared for pouring of the trail. Before pouring begins, workers must even out the dirt that they exposed when removing existing grass and concrete. The photo below shows workers leveling out the dirt inside of the forms that have been set for the trail and the driveways along the route.

After the dirt subgrade is leveled, a gravel subbase is laid, compacted, and evened out. In the photo below, this has been done and the trail that is ready to be poured.

Today, workers began pouring the trail. In the photo below, a screed levels the freshly poured concrete and helps workers find any holes in the concrete that need filled.

Here, workers use a wood plank as a screed.

After the concrete is leveled off with a screed, it is smoothed out with a bull float, shown in the photo above. Below, workers use edging tools to give the concrete a round edge, which helps reduce chipping. They also smooth any small imperfections in the concrete with hand floats.

The photo below shows a part of the trail that has been poured, smoothed, and had the forms removed. 

There is lots of construction on North Lake Avenue and reduced lanes for traffic to allow the contractor work safely.  Please reduce speeds and be on the lookout for turning traffic and construction crews.

Work has Started on North Lake Avenue Trail!

Crews have begun work on the North Lake Avenue Trail project. Last week, they started removing existing sidewalks, driveways, grass, and obstacles to create a path for the trail. The photos below show existing concrete and curbs being removed.

Existing sidewalk being removed

An area where a curb was removed to make room for a sloped path into the street

 Here, an obstacle was found while workers were digging and removing concrete. Lundell Construction called in MidAmerican Energy to help them remove what they think is an old streetlight base.

After removing all of the concrete, grass, and obstacles in the trail's path, workers will prepare the subgrade, or the dirt that will lay under the concrete. The subgrade will be compacted and smoothed to create a strong, even surface for the new trail. The photo below shows a subgrade that is somewhat evened out.

Here, the subgrade is partially evened out and the shape and path of the trail can be seen.

Drivers and pedestrians should use caution when traveling near the construction area and note that the west lane of North Lake Avenue is closed from West 10th Street to West 12th Street.

What's the Plan?

Thanks for the question on what to expect on the project!  To answer the question we decided to put up another blog post for the project.


The project starts on the south end at the intersection of 10th Street and Lake Avenue.  At this point the trail will be on the west side of Lake Avenue.  The finished project will have an 8 foot wide pedestrian and bike trail completed with visual warnings in the form of colored concrete marking the intersections with driveways and streets.  The intersections with streets will also have detectable warnings.


Here is the first page of the plan set showing part of the project. 

The page is a little difficult to read.  The page shows three sections of the trail starting at the top the beginning of the project at 10th Street and Lake.  The project runs south to north as you look across the page left to right.  Then the next section is below, again left to right.  Thus in the second section at the far right is the intersection of 12th Street and Lake Avenue.

At the intersection of 12th Street and Lake Avenue the trail will switch to the east side of the road where it will run the distance to C49.  Below is the second half of the plan sheets showing the project.

The project will stop on the north side of C49 until additional funding can be obtained to finish the project.

Construction Delay

The contractor on the project is delayed due to weather and other projects and as of today isn't expected to start until the week of July 6th.  Traffic control sub-contractor is expected to be onsite on Tuesday, July 7th and then the sub-contractor will start with removals on the south end of the project.