Columbus Board of Works members have approved an agreement with Bartholomew County and the Indiana Department of Transportation to provide a pedestrian and bike trail as part of a planned upgrade to the County Road 200S overpass crossing Interstate 65.
INDOT is planning to construct a 10-foot-wide, multi-use path on both the north and south side of County Road 200S on the overpass to allow safer travel, said Dave Hayward, city engineer and executive director of the city’s Public Works department.
The agreement, approved Tuesday, provides that the city of Columbus will construct the bike/pedestrian path on the west side of the overpass and the county will construct it on the east side, according to the state contract.
The paths need to be built by Sept. 4, 2019, according to the agreement. If either the city or county fails to complete the construction by that deadline, each is required to pay $471,387 to INDOT for having the state complete the construction, the agreement states.
The agreement also states the city may not erect any signs, sculptures or structures within the state-owned and controlled right-of-way without prior approval from state officials, according to the agreement.
