Independence launches a number of trails projects

Independence is about to build three key trails projects in the next year or so. According to the KCStar:

One project involves a 3.5-mile extension of the existing Little Blue Trace Trail in eastern Independence. A second calls for a separate connector trail, linking that same extended trail with Waterfall Park, near the new Bass Pro Shops store. . . .

The Little Blue Trace Trail extension has been discussed for perhaps five years, said Eric Urfer, director of the Independence parks and recreation department. But now both the city and the county have received grants for the project, which now are under review by the Missouri Department of Transportation.

“We are finally ready to go out and bid the project,” Urfer said. . . .

Meanwhile, up to $198,000 in federal stimulus funds will be used to link the extended Little Blue Trace Trail with the Waterfall Park, the recently dedicated park near the new Bass Pro Shops store.

The project was among those developed by Independence planners that could be ready for construction in six months, in anticipation of the federal stimulus program, approved earlier this year.