Regional trail project coming together

Shakopee Valley News

Residents will soon be able to bike and walk along County Highways 78 and 79 without fearing for their lives.

Construction is underway in Shakopee for a portion of the Scott West Regional Trail, which snakes throughout Scott County. The segment should be finished in August.

"We heard from a number of residents that they'd really enjoy (a trail) because a section of 79 in particular had a gravel shoulder, and there wasn't an opportunity to bike or walk along that road," Scott County Principal Planner Craig Jenson said. "Or if you were biking, you were almost in the road itself without having a shoulder."

Scott County applied for and received federal funds in 2014 to help pay for the trail, along with money from the city of Shakopee.

The Scott West Regional Trail has been in the works since 1990, Jenson said. Some portions of the project have been worked on when nearby roads needed construction, including highways 17, 82 and 21.

"When there's been opportunities, we've been building the trail," Jenson said. "It's slowly coming together."

Work on the project began in May, according to the project website.

"It'll be a good project," Jenson said.