Ruby Jack Trail near Joplin moves forward

In October 2006, the city [of Joplin] accepted a $100,000 federal grant, to be administered through the Missouri Department of Transportation, to complete the first phase of a 16-mile trail leading from Carthage to the Kansas state line. The Ruby Jack Trail will follow the former Burlington Northern rail line, which the company abandoned and made available for the express purpose of a hiking and biking trail under the federal government’s rails-to-trails program.

Chip Curtis, president of the Joplin Trails Coalition, which has undertaken the trail project, said the first phase will cover about 3 1/2 miles . . .

The Joplin Trails Coalition also has received approval for a second grant that would be used to connect the first two completed segments. Paul Teverow, also a coalition member, said: “Unfortunately, construction costs are proving more than we had planned. Prices have risen” since the project’s inception.