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Work on Phase 3A of the Luverne Loop path is completed.
Phase 3A started at the trailhead building on East Main Street and Blue Mound Avenue and ended at the Rock River to the east of the wastewater treatment plant.
Luverne City Council members recently approved final payment of $206,000 to Henning Construction, the general contractor for the work.
The total project cost was just over $496,000, with $150,000 paid for by a state of Minnesota DNR local trails grant.
The city recently published a map drawn to scale of the entire Luverne Loop, including the portion that connects with the Blue Mounds State Park.
Map brochures are available in city offices, at the trailhead, chamber and other locations. They are also on the city’s website at cityofluverne.org.
The map marks locations for restrooms, water fountains, bike repairs, scenic overlooks, parking and the city’s bike loan and e-bike rentals.
Bicycles are available to use for free 24/7 at the GrandStay Hotel and Suites on South Highway 75. There are eight adult and four youth coaster bikes and two adult trikes available.
The e-bikes can be rented for $5 per hour from the trailhead on East Main Street. They are self-checked out through a smartphone app.
There are two small, two medium and two large electric bikes that provide pedal assistance along with self-powered pedaling.
The Luverne Loop will be finished next year, with the help of more state funding.
The work next year will continue the trail from the Rock River to the area behind the Econo Lodge hotel on South Highway 75.
This connects the already completed trail that loops around the west side of Luverne along the school campus and around the hospital on the north end.
The next planned construction will be a 10-foot-wide section of the trail on the west and north sides of Sanford Luverne.
In related Luverne Loop news, the city recently erected signage at the “trail head” corner that was once Casey’s on East Main Street.
The sign cost roughly $24,600 and city public works employees provided in-kind labor for the project.
The trailhead corner and Living Rock Church boulevard are in line for the city’s “Four Corners” aesthetic improvements.
They’ll be similar to those on West Main Street at Highway 75 and the already completed Take 16 corner on East Main Street.