Jacob Dimond / jake@yelmonline.com
In efforts to expand Yelm’s Prairie Line Trail over the Nisqually River, the Yelm City Council has unanimously approved a contract with Boss Construction.
The contract between the City of Yelm and Boss Construction for the construction of Yelm Prairie Line Trail Phase 2B will not exceed the amount of $1,036,531.21. The trail itself will eventually connect to an outlet in Roy.
Yelm Public Works Director Cody Colt previously told the Nisqually Valley News that he hopes to see this trail used during the annual Seattle-to-Portland Bicycle Classic in an effort to alleviate local traffic during the event.
Yelm’s Prairie Line Trail will also be the only trail in the state to cross the Nisqually River, according to the City of Yelm’s website. The ultimate goal is to connect Yelm’s Prairie Line Trail to a vast network of paths with the intention of allowing pedestrians to travel across the state on it.
“Everybody has heard about this project, probably enough. We went out to bid, and Boss Construction was chosen as the low bidder. This takes our trail over the Nisqually River on the trestle,” Yelm Project Manager Brad Chatwood said on June 10. “Eighty percent of this is covered (by the state). This has been budgeted for and approved by council in the past. We’re ready to go.”
Yelm city councilors unanimously approved the contract with Boss Construction. Previously, Colt has stated he believes Yelm’s Prairie Line Trail will be completed by the end of 2025.
“We’re shooting for the end of next year. By the end of 2025, this will be complete,” Colt said last July. “It’s nice that the bridge is already there, so we’re just refurbishing the bridge. But there’s a lot of ecological things we need to do, like preventing stuff from falling into the river. That’ll be the part that slows us down, on how much the Department of Health and Ecology are involved.”
Yelm city councilors during the council meeting on June 10 also unanimously approved an amendment to the professional services agreement with SCJ Alliance for construction management of Yelm’s Prairie Line Trail Phase 2B project. The contract is not to exceed $116,259.30.
“This is just an amendment to the original agreement with SCJ to provide services for construction management,” Chatwood said. “This is also covered by our grant, so 80% will be funded, budgeted for — no big surprises. I will say, just a little cherry on top of this, is it looks like we’re going to come in under budget. That’s always great news, and not always the case.”
Councilor Joshua Crossman asked Chatwood why the city can’t pay an employee for construction management, instead of having to hire the position. Chatwood noted with a project in the scale of Yelm’s Prairie Line Trail, it’s “more than one engineer could handle.”
Chatwood added you’d need to hire an engineer with many abilities, and potentially several engineers to overlook various aspects of the project.
“That’s why an amendment to a contract like this to have them oversee and have full-time inspection on site is priceless,” Chatwood said.
