AGENCY REQUEST FOR BUILDING COMMISSION ACTION

June 2005 Project No. 05E3D

I. Agency: Department of Natural Resources

II. Location: Badger State Trail, Green and Dane counties

III. Project Request: The Department requests the authority to increase the project budget by $163,400, federal National Recreational Trail Act funds, and to bid and construct a 25.7 mile trail surfacing and drainage improvement project at a total estimated project budget of $1,219,400; $1,056,000 Stewardship Borrowing, 20.866 (2)(ta) and $163,400 federal National Recreational Trail Act funds. Surfacing is expected to begin at the / border and proceed northward 25.7 miles to Belleville. If construction costs are less than budgeted, the Department may wish to extend this project northward beyond the planned 25.7 miles.

IV. Project Description and Justification: The Natural Resources Board authorized acquisition of the 32.5 mile Badger State Trail rail corridor this corridor in April 2000, at no cost to the Department. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WDOT) owns the former Illinois Central Railroad corridor. Through an operations agreement the WDOT and the Southern Wisconsin Rail Transit Commission gave the Department conversion and development rights to the 600-acre rail corridor for the creation of a recreational trail. The Badger State Trail will begin at Lovell Road in Madison and end at the Illinois State line where the trail will connect to the Jane Addams Trail.

The Badger State Trail is expected to attract 200,000 to 250,000 users annually based on the feasibility study approved in April 2000 and past experience with other trails in the area and its close proximity to the Madison Metropolitan area. The trail will increase tourism to communities along the route including Madison, Paoli, Belleville, New Glarus, Monticello, Monroe and Basco. A curved ¼ mile tunnel near Exeter and south of Belleville will also be a great attraction for the trail. The trail will provide recreational and commuting opportunities for approximately 150,000 bicyclists, 75,000 hikers, 15,000 snowmobilers, and 2000 cross-country skiers. The trail will also activities such as berry picking, bird watching, general nature study, and fishing in streams, rivers, and other waterways that adjoin the trail.

This trail will provide a regional trail connection at its most northern point in Madison to the UW Campus, the , Military Ridge State Trail, and the Ice Age National Scenic Trail. Once a connection is established between Madison and Cottage Grove, users will be able travel the Glacial Drumlin State Trail to Waukesha and eventually to Lake Michigan in Milwaukee via the . The trail will also intersect the Sugar River Trail in Monticello.

South of Monroe the Badger State Trail will connect to the Jane Addams Trail at the Illinois - Wisconsin state line making the Badger State Trail the state’s first ‘Interstate’ trail connection with Illinois. The Jane Addams Trail, completed in 2004, continues south

1 14 miles to Freeport, Illinois where trail users will find connections to the 500-mile system.

The City of Madison entered into a similar management agreement with WDOT for the segment of rail corridor north of Lovell Road within its city limits. The City completed work on this section of the trail, called Madison’s ‘SW Path’, and includes a pedestrian bridge over the HWY 12/14 Beltline on the west side of Madison.

The Department will also be partnering with Dane County in the spring of 2006 to submit a Federal TEA-21 grant application for funding to complete the 7.5 mile trail segment from Sun Valley Parkway to Lovell Road. Dane County will be taking the lead as the TEA-21 project sponsor.

Within this segment the trail corridor crosses CTH PD (McKee Road) in the City of Fitchburg. County Trunk Highway PD is a 4-lane, divided county road connecting CTH D (Fish Hatchery Road) to the east with US Hwy. 18/151 to the west. The 2002 traffic counts estimated by the State Department of Transportation for CTH PD are 18,100 average daily traffic (ADT). Since the Badger Trail will be such a major connector with the Capital City Trail, Madison’s SW Path, and the Military Ridge State Trail, and because of the large traffic volume at this intersection, a grade separated bike/pedestrian crossing will ultimately be required.

The scope of the this project includes design and plan set preparation for the southernmost 32.5 miles of the proposed recreation trail from Sun Valley Parkway on the south side of Fitchburg to the Wisconsin/Illinois state line. Actual construction of the trail is anticipated to begin at this border and progress northward approximately 25.7 miles to Belleville. . If construction costs are less than budgeted, the Department may wish to extend this project northward beyond the planned 25.7 miles.

The limestone screening trail should be a 4-inch minimum compacted thickness of 3/8- inch maximum diameter limestone screenings. Design aspects of this project need to include bed preparation including grading and herbicide treatment, the limestone screening surfacing, building up the trail base with additional aggregate as needed, and solving drainage problems at numerous locations along the trail alignment. Trail design criteria found in the Department of Natural Resources Design Standards Handbook for Class A bike trail construction shall be followed in the design of the new trail.

The finished trail surface will be a minimum of 10 feet wide upon completion.

Certain areas of the trail corridor have a history of having drainage problems. The drainage problems are created by runoff from adjacent farm fields, feed lots, roadways, and high banks on both sides of the trail directing water onto the old rail bed. Engineering will be required as a part of this project to identify and correct these poorly drained areas of the trail and to ensure that the finished trail surface is built to sufficient height to avoid saturating the trail surface and base. The design consultant will inspect the trail to locate these poorly drained areas and to provide corrective design solutions.

The State Building Commission previously approved two safety related projects required bring the trail into compliance with Department trail standards and to open the trail to the public. In July 2003 the Sate Building Commission approved the Department’s request

2 (project #02I2I) to construct a forty bridge decking and railing and culvert replacement project along the Badger State Trail at a budget of $499,000; $249,500 Stewardship Borrowing, $249,500 National Recreational Trail Act funds. In October 2003 the State Building Commission approved the Department’s request (project #03I3L) to repair the quarter mile Exeter Tunnel located just south of Belleville on the Badger State Trail at a budget of $303,000 Stewardship Borrowing.

V. Budget and Schedule:

Budget

Limestone surfacing, materials and installation, 25.7 miles @$23,350/mile...... $600,000 Drainage improvements, @25.7 miles @$16,400/mile*...... 422,200 Total construction ...... $1,022,200 A/E fees (8%)...... 81,900 DSF Mgmt. Fee (4% of construction and contingency) ...... 43,700 Contingency (7%)...... 71,600 Total estimated project budget ...... $1,219,400

* Drainage costs are based on a limited number of cross sections through poorly drained sections of the trail. Twelve cross sections were evaluated on the northernmost two- thirds of the trail to estimate the costs for drainage improvements. The design consultant will locate all sites where drainage is a problem and determine the most appropriate action required to correct the problems along the entire trail.

Schedule

Program approval ...... June 2005 A/E Selection...... July 2005 Design Report Completed ...... NA Bid Date...... February 2006 Start of Construction ...... May 2006 Substantial Completion ...... April 2007 Final Completion...... May 2007

VI. Previous Building Commission Action:

July 2003 - This project was enumerated in 2003 Wisconsin Act 33 at a total estimated budget of $1,056,000 Stewardship Borrowing.

35 Badger State Trail surfacing and drainage

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