CEDAR CITY — A continuous ride. Cedar City plans to construct a connection from Southview Trailhead to East Bench Trail after the Cedar City Council approves a bid on the project on Wednesday.
According to Visit Cedar City, the East Bench Trail currently connects to the Coal Creek Trail at East Canyon Park, with a one-way distance of 2.65 miles.
The Southview Trailhead, located at the end of South Shurtz Canyon Drive, is part of the Iron Hills Trail System.
Hikers, bikers and other outdoor enthusiasts can access multiple trails there, including the Lichen It Trail, the Cedar City Paved Trail and the Turnpike Trail. A full system map is available onsite.
To collect bids, the city notified contractors and suppliers of the project via email, on the city’s website and in a newspaper advertisement, according to the council meeting packet, beginning on page 60. Three bids were received for the three-phase project.
The lowest bid came in over the project’s budget, prompting the city to break up the phases for approval. The council considered a bid for all three phases, a bid for Phase 1, and a bid for Phases 1 and 3. In addition, the city has not agreed to an easement through private property for Phase 2, the document states.
City engineer Jonathon Stathis said the proposed trail was redesigned to go around the property in question, which is located on Greenslake Drive. While the path would partially follow an existing livestock trail, the city couldn’t find a written easement to corroborate their right-of-way.
If Phase 2 were not constructed, users would follow the new trail from Southview Trailhead to the sidewalk located on Southern View Drive. From there, they would cross over Greenslake Drive to the East Bench Trail via a crosswalk with flashing lights, Stathis said.
Councilmember Terri Hartley said she was concerned about starting the project without the easements required for Phase 2 as that could reduce the city’s bargaining power to obtain access later.
Once the properties are developed, the city could gain easements based on what was approved in the Cedar City General Plan, Stathis said.
The Active Transportation committee is “very keen on seeing at least some progress” and wants to see something built this year. However, he said that Phase 2 could be developed later as it’s not as critical as phase one or three.
In Phase 3, the city would build the crosswalk on Greenslake Drive, which Councilmember Tyler Melling said would alleviate some public safety concerns related to the nearby intersection on state Route 91.
The council wrestled with the budget shortfall for the project. If only Phase 1 or 3 were completed, it would come in under budget but doing both would exceed allotted funds by $66,000, Stathis said.
To account for the missing funds, the city could revise the budget and pull funds from another lower-priority project, City Finance Director Jason Norris said.
Councilmember R. Scott Phillips said he didn’t want the shortfall to prevent the project’s progression.
“We’ve come so far in this process and some other projects are still pretty far down the road,” he said. “I’d hate for $66,000 to stop this project from moving forward.”
The council unanimously approved a bid of $275,089.54 from Perco Rock to complete Phases 1 and 3 and reassign funds from an existing project. Details of the budget revision have not yet been decided.
To view the entire discussion on the Cedar City Council’s YouTube page, click here.
Photo Gallery
The Southview Trailhead marked on a map | | Image courtesy of Google maps, St. George News The mountain as seen from Southview Trailhead, Cedar City, Utah, Aug. 24, 2022 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, Cedar City News The Southview Trailhead, Cedar City, Utah, Aug. 24, 2022 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, Cedar City News Bikers on the Cedar City Paved Trail near Southview Trailhead, Cedar City, Utah, Aug. 24, 2022 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, Cedar City News The Cedar City Paved Trail near Southview Trailhead, Cedar City, Utah, Aug. 24, 2022 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, Cedar City News A map of the Iron Hills Trail System provided on the Cedar City Paved Trail near Southview Trailhead, Cedar City, Utah, Aug. 24, 2022 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, Cedar City News Bikers on the Cedar City Paved Trail near Southview Trailhead, Cedar City, Utah, Aug. 24, 2022 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, Cedar City News The Cedar City Paved Trail near Southview Trailhead, Cedar City, Utah, Aug. 24, 2022 | Photo by Alysha Lundgren, Cedar City News
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