Larry Ross of Wichita-based Prairie Travelers, Inc. reports that the organization has received an $18,000 grant from the Sunflower Foundation to complete the Prairie Sunset Trail. A foundation in Wichita provided the required match. Funds will be used to install a crushed limestone surface on four miles of the trail which stretches west from Wichita to Garden Plain.
Steve O'Neal with Marshall County Connections in Marysville reports that the first 2-mile section of crushed limestone is down on the Blue River Rail-Trail and construction will start soon on the trailheads and bridges. One of the bridges in the first section, actually at the one mile point, will be a covered bridge. Trail builders were excited to hear about the funding for the bridge with their thoughts being that the bridge would be both very ascetic and practical for safety of trail in users account of its location at the midway point.
The City of Wichita has allocated $1.5 million of the $3.5 million federal Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant it received (funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) to develop the McAdams Bike Pathway by connecting the existing I-135 path at 17th Streeet to 21st Street. The trail project will provide a much-needed connecting link between the I-135 Bikeway and the K-96 Bikeway. If the distance is one-half of a mile, it is costing $3 million per mile to build which is significantly higher than most multipurpose pathway projects.
Signs designating the Prairie Spirit Trail as being a part of the National Rail Trail Network are now up. Susan Wettstein reports that the trail is in excellent condition from Ottawa to Iola except for the Pottawatomie Creek Bridge being rebuilt north of Garnett and people are encouraged to walk or bicycle the 51-mile trail this summer.
The town of Overbrook (located south of Topeka) will be celebrating Santa Fe Trail Days October 2-3. Overbrook was a stop on the Santa Fe Trail. The Landon Nature Trail, now under development in Osage County, intersects the Santa Fe National Historic Trail north of Overbrook and on the southeast. There will be crafts, demos, food, dancing and a “Showdeo” at the event. For more information go to exploreosage.com.
The office of the governor of South Carolina recently said the governor was out of pocket because he was hiking the Appalachian Trail. He was actually in South America with his girlfriend instead of his wife. The lesson learned is wise public officials will go on a hike on a trail instead of straying.
The Lawrence City Commission recently authorized city staff to execute purchase agreements with various landowners for the Burroughs Creek Trail Project for a total of $223,000. For some inexplicable reason, the former Santa Fe Railway corridor was never railbanked under the National Trails Act. Construction on the project is slated to begin in August and be completed by the end of the year. The total projected cost of the 1.6-mile 10' wide concrete path project is $846,000 or $513,000 per mile.