As part of a multi-million dollar project, a new walkway along Canyon Springs Road in Twin Falls will make the Snake River Canyon more accessible to pedestrians.
Along with giving the green light to the footpath, the Twin Falls City Council voted Tuesday to upgrade Canyon Springs Road and install rock-fall mitigation equipment.
The Times News reports the total project will cost between $4.8 and $5.8 million. While the path and road refurbishment project passed by a majority of 4 to 1, the lone dissenter, Councilman Greg Lanting, took issue with the footpath being the most expensive part of the plan. Lanting says taxpayers are on the hook for millions of dollars to build the walkway but will only be spending around 500,000 dollars on rock fall prevention measures.
It's unclear how the construction will be funded. Twin Falls already has a million dollars set aside from another project that came in under budget. Given the steep 10 percent grade of the roadway at points, the project will not be ADA compliant and therefore won't qualify for federal funds.
The council says the new footpath and road refurbishment could appear in the budget as soon as next year.
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