By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

COLUMBIANA–An agreement was reached and approved by the Shelby County Commission on Monday, April 13 to begin the preliminary engineering and construction of a project to add bike and pedestrian lanes along John Findley Drive at Oak Mountain State Park from the North Trailhead parking lot to the Alabama 119 park entrance.

An agreement was reached between the state of Alabama through the Alabama Department of Transportation, Shelby County Commission, United States Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration according to documents.

The total estimated cost for the project is $854,975 on the basis of 80 percent federal funds and 20 percent county funds according to the resolution documents.

A letter dated Aug. 14, 2014, requested that the bike and pedestrian lane addition project be added to the Transportation Improvement Project. The project will add 6-foot bike and pedestrian lanes along each side of John Findley Drive. Resurfacing John Findley Drive will be integrated into the construction of the bike/pedestrian lanes to eliminate transition lines according to documents.

The Shelby County Commission unanimously passed the resolution for the project construction on Monday, April 13, and the project is set to begin now that the agreement has been approved.