In May 2024, there was an open house about Project Access York, a pedestrian trial that would stretch across York from the interchange to the north part of town. The engineers from Olsson working on the design were present to answer questions, as were city and state officials.
WILLIAM SWETT NEWS-TIMES
Several city leaders happy lighting is part of trail plan
- PARKER GARLOUGH
York News-Times - Oct 17, 2026
The City Council approved Paulsen Inc.’s bid Thursday as the contractor for Project Access York. They will include lighting along the trail.
Project Access York is a pedestrian trail that will stretch from near the fairgrounds to the Interstate 80 interchange area. Much of the funding for the project comes from a $15.6 million federal grant the city was awarded in 2022.
The City Council approved a design for the trail July 3 and asked bidders to include two prices — one with lighting and one without. That way, they could assess whether trail lighting would be affordable before committing to it. Lighting had not been part of the original design, but members of the public raised concerns about it during public hearings in 2024.
“There was a lot of comments about safety and some lighting there, and we didn’t know if we’d be able to afford that,” Mayor Barry Redfern said.
Paulsen’s bid, including lighting, was $9,942,978 — the lowest among seven contractors that put in bids.
The bid was compared against a number that would “keep the budget for the project in line with what was agreed to in 2022 as the city’s required match,” which is $728,030 for the entire project, City Administrator Sue Crawford said in an interview. The exact comparison number will not be made public until the contract is finalized.
“I think it’s great that NDOT was able to get everything in under budget, everything that people were asking for,” council member Tony North said. “I think that’s a great win-win situation for us.”
In a column to the York News-Times, council member Stephen Postier questioned the process to approve bids.
“The contractor with the lowest construction bid was not the contractor with the lowest combined bid,” he wrote, with the combined bid including lighting.
The services Paulsen will provide include creating a paved pedestrian trail and constructing a pedestrian bridge for people crossing the interstate.
“It’s located between Wendy’s and McDonald’s,” Crawford said of the pedestrian bridge. “One end comes out at the far end of the Wendy’s parking lot, and the other at the far end of the McDonald’s parking lot.”
Other meeting items
■ Amanda Ring was appointed city treasurer. She will begin Nov. 30. The city will pay HDR
■ Engineering Inc. $488,750 for annual engineering services, as well as additional services including landfill capping.
■ The city will pay Color Dynamics LLC $128,000 to sandblast, seal and repaint the Family Aquatic Center pool.
■ Kaliff Drive will be extended to Naomi Road in order to ease traffic.
■ An alley between Walnut Street and West Nobes Road will be vacated so that the landowners can develop part of the land.
