Katy Trail to Kansas City trail connection: What's happening, what's new, what's the plan?

One of the most common questions I hear from our members is: What is happening with the effort to connect the Katy Trail to the Kansas City region?

One of our biggest long-term campaigns at MoBikeFed has been the work to encourage federal, state, and local governments to connect the Katy Trail to local communities, and especially to connect the Katy Trail state line to state line, bringing the trail network all the way in to Missouri's two largest cities, Kansas City and St. Louis. 

Rock Island Trail State Park Map
Rock Island Trail State Park Map

The biggest gap in the system by far has been the connection between the Katy Trail and Kansas City. The distance from the Katy Trail to Pleasant Hill--at the furthest southeast edge of the Kansas City metro area, is about 46 miles.

In 2008, the state of Missouri reached an agreement with AmerenUE, which owns the Rock Island Railroad Line, to allow a trail to be built along the line to connect Windsor, on the Katy Trail, 46 miles to Pleasant Hill, on the edge of the KC metro area.

It's been a long time since 2008!  So what's happening with this project now and what is the timeline for completion?

You can get an overview of what's happened with the project & corridor over the past years here.

The most recent official announcement of progress on the Windsor-Pleasant Hill section is here.

Where we stand now:

  • 1.5 mile section of the trail is open north west of Pleasant Hill and the city is working to connect that section directly into downtown Pleasant Hill. It is known as the MOPAC Trail.
     
  • We understand that the legal work on the first section of Rock Island Trail State Park, which will proceed several miles from downtown Pleasant Hill towards the southeast, is now complete.  Much of the trail is complete, too.  What isn't complete is the last 1/4 mile or so into downtown Pleasant Hill, where overpasses and complicated connections are needed.  Best guess: This section may open Fall 2013 or Spring 2014.
     
  • The legal work on the remaining portion of Rock Island Trail State Park--taking it the last (approx.) 40 miles to connect with the Katy Trail at Windsor--is underway.  This will railbank the corridor officially and will allow the trail to be built on top of the railbed--just the way the currently complete portions of the Katy Trail are built.  Once the legal work is complete, trail construction can start.  Best guess: This section of the trail could be open in 2-3 years.
     
  • These sections of trails will become the Rock Island Trail State Park

    Rock Island Corridor Coalition
    Rock Island Corridor Coalition
  • What about the connection from Pleasant Hill on in to Greenwood, Lee's Summit, Kansas City, and Raytown? That will actually connect the Katy Trail to the populated areas of the Kansas City metro area and into the planned regional Metrogreen Trail System.  Those cities and the counties involved have been negotiating with Union Pacific to outright purchase the section of the Rock Island RR line from Greenwood to the termination at the Sports Complex in Kansas City. The plans are to use the corridor for the trail and for commuter rail. That process is underway and proceeding well.  The Kansas City Rock Island Corridor Coalition has held a number of public meetings over the past year with plans and ideas for use of the corridor.
     
  • That still leaves a small gap, a few miles between Greenwood and the existing Pleasant Hill MOPAC Trail. Local officials are pretty confident they can make some kind of a trail connection through this area if all the other pieces come together.

Stay tuned for more information as this important trail connection comes together.  Do remember that these projects take patience and long-term thinking.  This project has been envisioned by community leaders since the Rock Island Railroad first started discussing shutdown in the mid 1970s.

Your membership and support over the long term is what makes trail connections like this possible across Missouri!

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