Two major Rock Island Trail announcements: 47 miles open by end of December; Belle to build first mile of Windsor-Washington RIT

The Missouri Rock Island Trail, Inc (MoRIT) made two major announcements about the Rock Island Trail over the weekend:

Missouri's Rock Island Trail is coming together in several discrete segments
Missouri's Rock Island Trail is coming together in several discrete segments

First section of Windsor-Washington Rock Island Trail to be built in Belle

Missouri Rock Island Trail made a major announcement Saturday about trail construction in Belle:

Belle has secured a Recreational Trails Program grant to fund construction of more than a mile of trail through its center city, then west to its city park. The trail at Belle will be the first segment built on the 144 mile corridor that runs from Windsor to Beaufort, MO, near Union. It will be constructed this winter by special agreement with Ameren, the corridor owner. Ameren will donate the 144 mile corridor to the State of Missouri in late 2017 when the two-year salvage process is completed.

47-mile Rock Island Trail State Park (Pleasant Hill-Windsor) to open by year end

The first 47 miles of Rock Island Trail State Park will open in 7 weeks. It will link Pleasant Hill, near Kansas City, to Windsor, MO, crossing the 240 mile Katy Trail. The Katy is the nation’s longest operating rail-trail and Missouri’s most active state park. The Katy has more than 400,000 visitors annually and an $18 million economic impact.

Upon completion, Rock Island Trail State Park’s 191 miles will create a cross-state loop connecting Kansas City to St. Louis. Its longest bridge is 1,776 feet long and 100 feet above the Gasconade River. Three miles west is the shortest of three tunnels: 740 feet long and 100 feet below Highway 63 at Freeburg. The Eugene tunnel is 1,640 feet long.

More about Missouri's new cross-state trail, the Rock Island Trail, and the many sections of the trail that are now moving forward in various ways on MoBikeFed's Rock Island Trail page

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