Katy Bridge issue remains embroiled in politics

The issue of the MKT Bridge at Boonville and the controversy it has caused in Missouri state politics has been prominent in the news again over the past few weeks.

Particularly at issue is the conflict between the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, which owns the Katy Trail and is willing to give up its rights in the MKT bridge to Union Pacific, and Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon, who has filed suit to stop the turnover of the bridge to the railroad. According to the Belleview News Democrat:

In the Katy Bridge case, the Department of Natural Resources hired its own private attorney to represent its interests, at $275 an hour, arguing Nixon's office couldn't represent both sides.

Department Director Doyle Childers has said he thought an attorney in Nixon's office shared some confidential information he learned while representing the department, which Nixon then used to sue the department. Nixon has denied the charge.

More information is in the Columbia Tribune.

This situation also affects the negotiations surrounding the extension of the Katy Trail to the Kansas City area.

Governor Blunt and DNR Director Childers want Ameren to give trail rights to a section of the former Rock Island Railroad to the state for use as the Katy Trail connection to Kansas City. This would be partial amends for the destruction to Johnson Shut-ins State Park caused by failure of an Ameren-owned dam. Attorney General Nixon is prosecuting the case and leading the negotiations with Ameren.