St. James bike trail moves forward

The Phelps County Commission expressed its support for the continued development of a bike trail in St. James at its meeting Tuesday morning.

When complete, the nine mile paved bike trail will extend from the Veteran's Home in St. James to Maramec Spring Park. Although the trail is far from being finished, construction is well underway. The first phase of the project, which includes two miles of trail through St. James City property, has been completed. The second phase, which is currently being worked on, includes one and a half miles of land that goes across Boys and Girls Town of Missouri. The third phase will include another mile through Boys and Girls Town of Missouri.

"This bike trail is something we've wanted for about five years," said [MoBikeFed member] Dick Elgin, who serves on a subcommittee of the St. James Chamber of Commerce that is working on the bike trail. "It's exciting to see the project finally taking shape."