Anderson is one step closer to having a state-of-the-art bikeway built along State Highway 273 between South Street and Pleasant Hills Drive near the Wal-Mart Super-Center.

That section of state highway is heavily traveled by pedestrians, motorized wheelchairs and bicycle traffic as people travel from low-income housing and apartments either to downtown or to the Wal-Mart SuperCenter at the south end of town, Public Works Director Jeff Kiser said.

In May 2009, the city's Redevelopment Agency proposed using $156,800 in unspent Tax Increment Bond proceeds to pay for plan preparation, engineering and environmental findings of a two-lane paved bike- and walk-way that would be completely separated from traffic, Kiser said.

"It's really a first-class project. There will be a line striped down the middle (to keep northbound and southbound pedestrians separated). It will also have traffic crossing signals at the appropriate intersections. It is not just a paved pathway," he said.

The city then applied for a Bicycle Transportation Account Grant from the California Department of Transportation and, in September 2009, received $620,000 to construct the bikeway.

"The project will not only provide a safe passage for bicyclists and pedestrians traveling to work, school or shopping in the south end of town, but would significantly improve the appearance of Highway 273 along the west side," Kiser told the Anderson City Council Tuesday, Aug. 17, as they prepared to award a construction bid of $548,000 to Site Work Solutions Inc. of Redding.

The bid was the lowest of five submitted for the project, Kiser said.

With council member Butch Schaefer absent, the remaining four members unanimously awarded the bid and adopted a resolution that would appropriate the grant funds for spending in the 2010-2011 city budget.

"I am excited to see this happen," Councilman James Yarbrough said once the vote was recorded.