Tedesco Learning Corridor

Phase III of the Tedesco Environmental Learning Corridor includes a 10-foot wide, multi-use paved trail from University Boulevard to county road R-38 on the south side of Ames along 260th Street. Gannett file photo

Next phase of Tedesco Learning Corridor aims to connect city to bike trails

By Robbie Sequeira Gannett

After making its long-waited debut last June, the Tedesco Environmental Learning Corridor (TELC), a 37-acre park located at the Iowa State University Research Park, is embarking on its third phase of improvements that would provide multi-use connectivity from the park to outside of Ames.

“The Conservation Board and the Board of Supervisors were very concerned that in order to do the corridor, we leverage a trail connectivity to (county road) R38 to Tedesco,” said Mike Cox, the county’s conservation board director. “This is bringing that project forward now, and it would essentially pave 2 1/2 miles of new trail.”

In February, the Board of Supervisors approved plans for Phase III, which includes a 10-foot wide, multi-use paved trail from University Boulevard to county road R-38 on the south side of Ames along 260th Street.

The 2 ½-mile trail west from the middle roundabout at University Avenue along the vacated Old Chicago and Northwestern railroad bed diagonally to 260th Street will eventually connect to R-38.

Cox said that all the necessary easements have been acquired for the project. County staff said that, weatherpermitting, construction could be completed by late summer or early fall.

“This really connects the Research Park to go down to the Heart of Iowa trail,” said Supervisor Lauris Olson. “You’ve got to get on some public roads, but it’s still a connection.”

Ryan Weimold, parks superintendent with Story County Conservation, said that since the Tedesco Environmental Learning Corridor’s mid-summer grand opening, it has meet goals for “natural resource protection” and “environmental educational opportunities.”

“We’ve seen increased use as people have become aware of (TELC),” said Weimold. “We had quite a bit of community support with this project, feedback has been largely positive, and when people have seen what we’ve been able to do, they’ve been really impressed.”

The corridor was named after former Ames mayor and businessman Ted Tedesco, and development of the park was done in three phases and cost $4.5 million.

The Tedesco Environmental Learning Corridor has been developed on land that was donated to the county by the Iowa State Research Park. It has two creeks which drain a watershed of 1,200 acres of agriculture, residential and commercial land.