BY DREW DODSON
for The Star-News

Pedestrians and bicyclists traveling along Wooley Avenue this summer will be safer following action taken by the McCall City Council at its regular meeting last Thursday.

The council awarded a contract worth about $360,000 to Falvey’s Earthworks of McCall to build a separated pathway along Wooley Avenue from Denali Court to Spring Mountain Boulevard.

“The section we will be constructing this spring is one of the more dangerous road sections to share the road,” McCall Parks and Recreation Director Kurt Wolf said..

The work will build a boardwalk about 1,100 feet long and 10 feet wide over wetlands on the southern side of Wooley Avenue. It is expected to be complete by June 30, Wolf said.

The east end will connect to the Spring Mountain Pathway, which was built last summer, on the east side of Spring Mountain Boulevard. The west end will connect back to Wooley Avenue at Denali Court.

Several measures to preserve the wetlands will be required as part of a permit the city had to obtain from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wolf said.

The boardwalk will be elevated 30 inches off the ground and two “bump-outs” for educational exhibits on wetlands will be included.

The city will also add planted areas to promote pollination and plant diversity to help reduce disturbances to the wetlands.

About $315,000 for the work will be funded from the city’s capital improvement fund. The remaining $45,000 will be funded by the Spring Mountain Ranch Homeowners Association, which also funded $5,000 for preliminary engineering.

Wooley Avenue from Denali Court to Davis Avenue will continue to function as a shared road between motorists, pedestrians and bicyclists until that section of pathway is built.

That section will likely be built in conjunction with repairs to Wooley Avenue, but that portion of the work has not been scheduled, Wolf said.

Valley County Pathways appreciates the support of the McCall City Council in approving this much-needed project. Congrats to McCall Parks and Recreation Director Kurt Wolf, a VCP board member, for his leadership on this project.  

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