Rail-trail conversions could create extensive new trails in southwestern Missouri

The Healthy Nevada project--which is working to improve walkability and bikability in the city of Nevada--is also exploring ways to connect Nevada with surrounding communities.  Advocates are working with MoDOT to link Nevada with El Dorado Springs via a bike lane on Highway 54 and also exploring the possibility of converting abandoned and lightly used rail lines in the area. 

Healthy Nevada Logo

The Joplin Globe recently wrote about the effort and some of the possibilities:

Missouri was just named the “Best Trails State” in the nation by American Trails, a national not-for-profit group that advocates building trails for hiking, biking and riding.

Tugged by the same restless spirit that kept Missourians moving 200 years ago, these trail advocates haven’t reached their destination yet. They are pushing forward with plans for more, longer trails statewide and dream of one day connecting Southwest Missouri to perhaps the state’s most famous modern trail, the Katy.

A key means of getting to their goal is converting abandoned or unused rail lines into trails, an effort known as rails-to-trails. A similar effort on a smaller scale 20 years ago led to the creation of the popular Frisco Greenway Trail in Joplin, which can draw hundreds of runners, walkers and cyclists a day when the weather is good. . . .

Railways that have been converted into trails for running, biking and even horseback riding are nothing new in Southwest Missouri.

Jasper County has the 3.5-mile long Frisco Greenway Trail from Joplin to Webb City, and the 16-mile Ruby Jack Trail. 

Quad State Trail Plan

The eastern eight miles of the Ruby Jack, from Carthage through Oronogo, are completely walkable and accessible by bike, while the western eight miles are rough and need improvement but are open to public use, according to Joplin Trails Coalition spokesman Paul Teverow. . . .

Springfield-area residents have developed a 36-mile trail from Springfield to Bolivar along an abandoned railroad that President Harry Truman once used on his whistle-stop tours. It’s called the Frisco Highline Trail.

Read more in the Joplin Globe.

More about the long-term possibilities for extending the Katy Trail to Nevada and the Kansas State line.