Several trees were cut down along Church Street last week to make way for a long-awaited sidewalk project. Central Methodist University was awarded a half-million-dollar Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant in 2024 to widen the sidewalk along the campus's western border along Church Street. Now it appears the project will move ahead this summer.

“We are still slowly moving forward with MoDOT on the $500K grant we received for the sidewalk replacement project,” said Julee Sherman, the university's Vice President for Finance and Administration.

OWN Engineering of Fayette is overseeing the project, Sherman explained. “They are still finishing up required paperwork before the work can go to bid. We are still hopeful for a summer 2026 project.”

The MoDOT TAP grant will fund 80% of the estimated $548,000 project. Central will fund the remaining 20%. The plan is to rebuild the sidewalk to ADA standards along the campus’s western border at zero cost to the city.

In the future, the university also hopes to improve parking along Church Street, next to where some of the new sidewalk will be laid. Currently, cars park along the side of the street, often driving over the angled curb and onto the strip of grass, which has caused deep, ugly ruts. As part of a long-term campus beautification plan, CMU hopes to one day widen that side of the street by about four feet to allow for better and safer parking.