Perry Farm getting new trail

BRADLEY – The annual scarecrow contest sponsored by the Bourbonnais Township Park District will have a bit of a different look come October.

Acting on safety concerns for those who visit the numerous scarecrows, a new bike/walking trail is being built further off North Kennedy Drive.

At Monday’s board meeting, BTPD commissioners approved awarding the contract to Kankakee Valley Construction Co. of Kankakee for $285,884.34.

The KVCC bid was almost $33,000 less than the next lowest bid.

It was the lowest of four bids the park district received for the project.

Hamann Wagner Excavating of Momence ($318,622.50), Ruben E. Smith Construction and R&R of Bradley ($347,810.90), and Kevin Nugent Construction of Bourbonnais ($356,442) were the other bidders.

Half of the money comes from a state grant awarded to BTPD, while the other half is paid for by the village of Bradley through money generated from its business district sales tax.

The village annexed the park and farm home this past year.

“That is a heavily traveled roadway,” said Mike O’Shea, park district executive director. “This is being done for safety because there are lots of people, lots of kids who come to look at all the scarecrows.”

Work on the path is expected to start in late March, and construction most likely will go through spring and the start of the summer, O’Shea said.

The new 10-foot-wide path will start in front of the Perry Farm House and travel south to Perry Street, where it turns and heads west to the entrance of the park. It is at this point where a park trail begins.

The concrete path will sit back 12 feet from the current sidewalk. There also will be a new fence installed.