The City of Billings submitted a Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) Community Transportation Enhancement Project (CTEP) grant application for the Aronson Bypass Trail in March 2012. This project will construct a 10-foot wide hard-surfaced bicycle and pedestrian path approximately 1,500 feet in length. This connection will provide a trail link from the trail on the west side of Swords Park North to the sidewalk just east of Swords Lane on the north side of Airport Road. It will provide a corridor away from vehicular traffic for bikes and pedestrians to access the Main Street Underpass from the sidewalk along the west side of Main Street. The local match for this project is being provided by BikeNet. The administration of the construction project will be through the City of Billings Parks, Recreation & Public Lands (PRPL). The project was approved through the local CTEP project selection process involving the City Council, Board of County Commissioners and Planning Board, and also was approved by MDT. The Policy Coordinating Committee (PCC) approved this project at its regular meeting on February 21, 2012. The Project Specific Agreement represents the formal agreement between the City and MDT for the project’s scope, funding, and federal aid compliance. Council must authorize the Mayor to execute a Project Specific Agreement for the Aronson Bypass Trail to begin project development.

The Council may:

• Approve the CTEP Project Specific Agreement and authorize the Mayor to sign.
• Not approve the CTEP Project Specific Agreement. This would result in the loss of CTEP funding for this project.

The funding breakdown for this project is as follows:

CTEP Grant	$205,498
BikeNet	$  31,852
Total Funds Available	$237,350

Staff recommends that Council authorize the Mayor to execute the CTEP Project Specific Agreement for the Aronson Bypass Trail Project.