FAIRHOPE, Ala. — “This is the final link in an extensive bike and trail path along the Eastern Shore,” said Baldwin County construction engineer Frank Lundy, referring to the mile-and-a-half stretch next to Scenic Highway 98 between County Road 32 and the Grand Hotel Marriott Resort, Golf Club & Spa. “We have wanted to connect the northern and southern sections of the trail for a very long time.”

Financing for the project came through a competitive federal grant process with a local matching funds requirement, he said.

“The federal share for this project is $539,452, and the county’s portion is $134,863, for a total of $674,315.”

The general contractor for the project is M.C. Williams of Mobile, he said.

On Tuesday morning, employees and the contractor’s project superintendent were preparing for installation of a new drainage system near the intersection of CR 32 and Scenic 98.

“We are replacing an old and dilapidated drainage system that has been there for years,” he said, adding that the area has experienced flooding and other drainage problems due to that old system. “We’re going to make it flow properly.”

Lundy said concrete culverts will be buried underground along the east side of Scenic 98 with a grate visible to receive stormwater and carry it to a new culvert that will be installed in part of the existing ditch next to Zundel Road, just south of Punta Clara Kitchen and the Wash House restaurant. The stormwater will be carried through that system into Mobile Bay at the end of that road where there is a parking area and stairs leading down to a small beach.

The use of red clay in the project surfaced during a recent City Council meeting, when Councilman Mike Ford asked whether the city’s new erosion control ordinance applied to county projects. He was told it does not, and that county and state projects, generally, are not covered by city law.

“We are very particular about how we contain the construction material and protect the environment,” said Lundy, regarding the use of red clay as the foundation for the trail prior to its being paved. He said no one living along the bay in that area has complained of muddy runoff.

“There have been no problems,” he said.

The trail expansion project began about two months ago, he said, and is about half finished, with completion expected in two more months.