Local advocates see success in project to add bike lanes to Highway 54 between Nevada and El Dorado Springs

For about the past year, the City of Nevada and the Cerner Corporation have partnered on the Healthy Nevada project.

The idea is to put significant resources and investment into revamping the health and vitality of a rural community--creating a model healthy, livable, rural city that can be replicated across the U.S.  Initiatives have ranged from new equipment in parks to health classes in high schools to a citywide bicycle and pedestrian plan. 

Healthy Nevada logo

Looking at the city's bike/ped plan started local advocates thinking a bit bigger--what about regional bikeways and connectivity?  A short bike ride can easily be 5-10 miles and avid cyclists and groups can easily cover 20-50 miles or more on a weekend rides.  Having real regional bicycle connectivity helps foster that kind of regular healthy activity.

Steve Marquardt of Nevada is working with city leaders and citizens involved with Healthy Nevada to establish a local advocacy group to support this effort. They have looked at possible regional trail connections--such as continuing the Katy Trail from Clinton through Nevada and then on towards Fort Scott, KS, and also at regional road connections.

Highway 54 connects Nevada with El Dorado Springs, a distance of about 31 miles.  Hwy 54 is scheduled for re-paving soon. The section between Nevada and El Dorado Springs already has wide shoulders and, because it connects two of the larger communities in this area, is a logical bicycle route connection. With a very small additional investment, that shoulder area can be turned into a real, designed and maintained bicycle lane.

Marquardt talked with city and local officials, working to garner their support, and gathered over 50 letters of support for the proposal (including one from the Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation). 

Now MoDOT officials have given the plan preliminary approval.  Now that's not FINAL approval and several hurdles remain before final implementation.  But it's a huge step nevertheless.  If given final approval and built, this will be among the first official, designed and designated bicycle lanes on a lengthy stretch of rural state or federal highway in Missouri. 

Marquardt wrote:

I wanted to share some exciting news with all of you.  Last Thursday MoDots Region 7  Engineering Director came to Nevada to offer her preliminary approval of the 54 bike lane proposal!!!!!!

The resurfacing will proceed as planned this Summer as it has already been budgeted and contracted.  The bike lanes will be completed as an additional contract following the resurfacing. Each shoulder will include a bike lane built to MoDots specs from Nevada to El Dorado Springs.  Roughly 18 miles each way of smooth, safe, clearly marked lanes!

MoDot was certainly impressed by the outpouring of support from community members regarding this proposal.  All of you are responsible for making this bike lane a reality!  Look at what a community can accomplish together! 

The Nevada City Manager, JD Kehrman, was instrumental in pushing this proposal forward and our regional MoDot Engineer Darin Hamelink showed great willingness to advance this proposal within MoDot for approval.

I look forward to this project coming to completion and hope I can count on all of you for support of future alternative transportation projects that will follow.   These bike lanes are a first step toward building our community into a more health conscience, pedestrian and cycling friendly region.  Some ideas for future projects will come from the Healthy Nevada Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan of which a portion was recently released and available for viewing on the Healthy Nevada Website.

Many thanks to MoDOT and local officials who have supported this initiative.  When we met recently with MoDOT Director Dave Nichols, he promised that the agency is taking a new direction in supporting bicycling and walking across Missouri.  If Nichols is right, we should see projects like this popping up all over across Missouri, when local communities are looking to create healthier communities and create more transportation and recreation options for their citizens.

If you'd like to register your support for this project and help local advocates build support for the Hwy 54 Bike Lanes, you can write a letter of support and send it to 54bikelane@gmail.com.