Katy Trail donor joins lawsuit against Boonville Bridge removal

According to a Columbia Missourian article:

A donor who helped finance the Katy Trail State Park joined a lawsuit Thursday seeking to stop the removal of an old railroad bridge in Boonville that preservationists hope could one day become part of the biking and hiking trail.

Pat Jones of Callaway County is the widow of investment company founder Edward “Ted” Jones. The couple donated $200,000 to purchase the old railroad bed in 1987 and gave an additional $2 million to develop it into a public trail.

She was added as a plaintiff in a revised lawsuit filed Thursday by trail users. The lawsuit seeks to block Gov. Matt Blunt’s administration from relinquishing the state’s interest in the bridge and to prevent the bridge’s dismantling by the current owner, Union Pacific Railroad Co.

The suit says that, if the bridge were removed, it could be construed as a severance in the original Katy Railroad route and could subject the existence of the trail to legal challenges from private property owners.

Jones previously filed to weigh in on a related lawsuit, as a friend of the court in the suit brought by Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon. However, acting as a plaintiff in a lawsuit herself is a higher level of commitment for Jones.

The Boonville Bridge is a complex issue involving many political and legal factors. Because of various legal factors, removal of the bridge will impact the legal status of the Katy Trail as a whole.

Background on this issue is here.