As of this month, students and residents have a safe route to Pioneer Trail Elementary School with the construction of a sidewalk.
A ribbon-cutting took place Tuesday to celebrate the completion of the sidewalk.
The $750,000 project began in early April and is part of the Safe Routes to Schools Project, a national program Missouri was active in from 2010-12.
The program provides grant funding for projects like the sidewalk, said county engineer Eric Landwehr.
The grant provided $250,000 in funding and the rest came from the county's ½-cent sales tax for capital improvements fund, according to a news release from the Cole County Department of Public Works.
When the school was first built, there were no sidewalks in the area. He worked with the school to put the grant together, and he said he's happy to see it completed.
The sidewalk stretches a little more than a mile from Business 50 West, just south of Pioneer Trail, and runs north and east along Rainbow Drive, ending at Hunters Run.
Landwehr said people have been using the newly-constructed sidewalk since summer, but it was completed earlier this month.
There was a little opposition from residents on Rainbow Drive, whose homes are close to the road. Landwehr said some were concerned the sidewalk would cut into their lawn, but now that the sidewalk is completed, he has heard positive feedback from the community.
"One person who was not in favor of it really likes it now," he said. "Generally it's been very favorable."
He said he has seen students use the sidewalk to get to and from school, and there is an added benefit that the community can use it, too.
"Before, there was no pedestrian access," Landwehr said. "Now there's a lot of ways for people to get out and use something other than the roadway. It's been a good thing to see."