Clear Creek Trail takes a detour

Once the dust settles, the improvements to the segment of Clear Creek Trail near the Myhre Road culvert construction will be worth the wait.

The portion of the trail affected extends from Myhre Road behind All Star Lanes to the State Route 3 on-ramp on Silverdale Way. That segment is now closed until October and trail users are asked to avoid the construction area for their own safety.

“Our biggest concern is we don’t want anyone to get hurt,” said Barry Tester, superintendent for Stan Palmer Construction, the company in charge of the project. “There’s a lot of work happening here and we’re just now getting started.”

Work on the Myhre Road culvert and adjoining trail area is expected to resolve flooding and drainage issues along the Clear Creek corridor.

For Clear Creek Task Force member Tex Lewis, it’s a disruption he knew would be inevitable. But looking ahead to the improvements planned for the trail, it’s a welcomed disruption.

“We recognized there would be a risk of disruption here when we put this part of the trail in (about seven years ago), but it was worth the risk to get people on the trail,” he said. “The overall benefit is it will be better than it was before. I want trail users to know it’s going to be better.”

Upon completion of the project, the trail segment will be about 4 feet higher, landscaped, the wooden boardwalks replaced and the trail’s bridge over Clear Creek widened.

During times of rain in the past, flooding would often close the area of the trail behind All Star Lanes.

“It will now be accessible more times during the year,” Lewis said.

There also are plans to put in a retention pond in the field just north of All Star Lanes.

“It will clean up water in the stream,” Lewis said.

With plans for a few picnic benches and a few smaller trails near the pond, Lewis expects it to be a vast improvement for trail users.

“When it’s done, it’s going to be a real nice area,” he said.

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