Very soon, walker, joggers and bikers will have their own path along Augsburger Road.

Work started this week on an Augsburger Road pathway that will resolve a major safety issue. When finished, it will be a 10-foot wide asphalt pathway completely separate from Augsburger Road.

The pathway extends from Bentley Road (north side of Augsburger), to the Bluffton University nature preserve, Riverbend and Maple Crest. A completion date is Oct. 31.

This pathway is a piece of a much larger project that hopes to eventually encircle the village with a designated path for bikers and walkers as defined by the Comprehensive Bike and Pedestrian Pathway Master Plan established by the village.

In July Dick Ramseyer, president the Bluffton Lions Foundation and chair of Bluffton Pathway Board, presented a $16,370 check to the village.

That check represents the final payment of the Village of Bluffton’s share in the $244,000 Augsburger Road project.

Earlier the Bluffton Lions Foundation paid $8,400, making Bluffton’s share $24,770, which is 20 percent of the project. The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) will pay the remaining 80 percent of the project.

The major emphasis on the Augsburger Road Pathway project is safety. The development of Maple Crest retirement community and Riverbend residential housing subdivision created a safety issue for pedestrian traffic on the narrow Augsburger Road.

The Lions foundation is actively involved in securing financial resources to construct a pathway system identified in the Comprehensive Bike and Pedestrian Pathway Master Plan. The Bluffton Pathway Board established by Bluffton council is responsible for implementation of the master plan.

The pathway board’s current focus is Bentley Road. It intends to create a pathway to connect the Augsburger path from Bentley to Grove Street and eventually to Main Street at the Dari Freeze.

Members of the pathway board include Dick Ramseyer, Laura Voth, Dr. James Harder, Dima Snyder, Greg Denecker, John Rich, Mitch Kingsley, Fred Steiner and village liaisons Jamie Mehaffie and Joe Sehlhorst.

Member of the foundation board include Lions Dick Ramseyer, Dick McGarrity, Barbara Plaugher, Lowell Hostetler, Greg Denecker, Mitch Kingsley, Judy Augsburger, Ed Yeager and Colleen Lazar.