TE GRANT APPROVED FOR TWO RIVERS TRAIL IN LAWRENCE. The City of Lawrence has been notified that its $500,000 federal Transportation Enhancement grant application from KDOT has been approved to build the 1.5-mile Burroughs Creek Trail. The recreational path will stretch from 11th Street to 23rd Street in eastern Lawrence where it will link up with the one-mile Haskell Rail-Trail, Kansas' first developed rail-trail. The total cost of this first phase of the 10-foot-wide concrete path is $845,000. Lawrence’s application was one of the seven approved out of a total of 31 ped/bike project applications. The trail will have raised pedestrian crossings among other features. The City is in the process of acquiring the right-of-way. Ultimately, the trail will extend from the Wakarusa River to the Kansas River and may ultimately be called the Two Rivers Trail or River to River Trail.
PRAIRIE SPIRIT TRAIL OPENING STILL ON HOLD. As mentioned in the last newsletter, the official opening the final leg of the Prairie Spirit Trail (between Welda and Iola) has been delayed indefinitely. Apparently, the contractor hasn't completed all of the work to the satisfaction of KDWP. Trent McCown, the Prairie Trail Manager, reports in the Prairie Spirit Express (May 2008) the following: "…[A]lthough we cannot officially open the trail for use, we will only be giving verbal warnings to visitors if they have the proper permits and are riding under the assumption that the trail is open."
FLINT HILLS TRAIL AT OSAWATOMIE TO OPEN. The Osawatomie Division of Kanza Rail-Trails Conservancy is working hard to complete the Flint Hills Nature Trail (FHNT) from Osawatomie city limits west to Rantoul by July. The eight-mile segment is highly scenic and traverses woodlands along the Marais Des Cygnes River. Crushed limestone has been installed (except for a one-quarter mile section) and all that is needed is final grading and installation of a few bollards and signs. Next, the Osawatomie Division will ask the City of Osawatomie to apply for a federal Transportation Enhancement grant to run the trail from the western city limits on into town.
FHNT AT VASSAR TO BE EXTENDED. Work will start soon on extending the six-mile Vassar trail section of the Flint Hills Nature Trail west 1.5 miles to and over the US 75 bridge. KDOT is planning to widen US 75 which will necessitate the replacement of the bridge. When funds and volunteers become available, the Vassar section will be extended to Osage City and the town of Pomona. Vassar is located just south of Pomona Lake.
KATY TRAIL EXTENSION TO KC SCHEDULE. Kansas City Star columnist Mike Hendricks reports that the KATY Trail extension into Kansas City will be completed within three years if all goes as planned (Kansas City Star 6-09-08). A new recreational trail will be built between Windsor and Pleasant Hill within the railroad corridor making this a rails-with-trails project. Also, Kansas City, MO and Leawood, KS celebrated a state-line connection on National Trails Day (Saturday June 6) on the Indian Creek Trail. All of this activity means that eventually trail users in Johnson County will be able to travel all the way to St. Louis using off-road recreational trails.
MISSOURI RIVERFRONT TRAIL SEGMENT SET TO OPEN. The first 2.7 miles of the Missouri Riverfront Trail will open in July according to Kansas City Star columnist Mike Hendricks (Kansas City Star 6-09-08). The trail will initially connect the E.H. Young Riverfront Park in Riverside, MO with the English Landing Park in Parkville, MO. This trail will mostly utilize the tops of levees as it follows the Missouri River and will stretch from historic, antebellum Weston to the Clay County line in Kansas City. The crushed limestone path could become part of the Quad States Trails Network and will offer one of the most unique hiking and biking routes in the state. Plans even call for creation of a wetlands and rare hardwood river forest along much of its length.