‘Long overdue’ Twombly Road pedestrian path to DeKalb High School coming in 2022, say city officials

DeKALB – DeKalb students and families are one step closer to getting a walking path along Twombly Road to DeKalb High School, after final funding for road reconstruction was greenlit this week.

The DeKalb City Council on Monday unanimously approved regional excavation company, N-Track Group, for the final phase of the Twombly Road reconstruction project, which will be paid for with $600,000 in state motor fuel tax revenue.

“The path we are going to continue to work on this fall is so people can get to the high school on some type of hard service and not walk on the street,” said DeKalb City Manager Bill Nicklas.

The reconstruction will tackle the portion of Twombly Road which is west of Annie Glidden Road. The Twombly Road reconstruction is a joint effort funded by both the City of DeKalb and DeKalb Township, since the road runs in both jurisdictions, according to city documents.

The project will replace the current street surface, storm sewer and a curb with a sidewalk on the north side and a walking path on the south side that leads to DeKalb High School, documents show.

The construction will begin this fall, with the walking path expected to be completed next year, Nicklas said.

City officials said Twombly Road near Annie Glidden had deterioration which needed to be tended. The reconstruction allows for “significant updates to drainage” on the roadway and improvements on “very lacking pedestrian accommodations,” documents state.

“I know everyone in that area is extremely excited about this, just a fantastic project all the way around,” DeKalb Mayor Cohen Barnes said. “Long, long overdue.”