Group aims to turn Rock Island Railroad corridor into a statewide trail

The Lake Expo recently covered work by a coalition in central Missouri to turn a long section of the Rock Island Railroad Corridor into a rail-trail with potential to rival the Katy Trail in length: 

Quad States Trail Vision - the portions of the Rock Island corridor discussed in this article will provide many key connections for this multi-state trail system

The Missouri Rock Island Trail is a project that local organizer Mac McNally says could link with the popular Katy Trail to create a nearly 400-mile hiking/biking path in Missouri. He predicts the trail would be “a huge economic boon.”

Right now, the non-profit organization MoRIT (Missouri Rock Island Trail) is working with Ameren-owned Missouri Central Railroad Corporation (MCRC) to sort out a crucial step in the process.

MCRC owns the right-of-way along the rail lines that MoRIT wants to convert into trails. And while in some cases, a rail line owner will completely relinquish or sell the rights to that land, MoRIT is seeking an arrangement with MCRC referred to as “rail banking.”

McNally explained this would allow the corporation to hold on to the property, while giving MoRIT the rights and an unlimited time frame to build a trail on top of the rail bed. . . .

Several Missouri communities have already been participating in MoRIT, including Bland, Belle, Owensville, Rosebud, and Gerald . Eldon’s trail team only recently came aboard. . . .

MoRIT is seeking a total of 146 miles to be rail banked from MCRC. McNally said that would make this one of the largest sections of rail lines to be banked in the country.

The section of the Rock Island rail line—which historically connected all the way to Chicago—sought by MoRIT extends from Gerald, Mo. to Windsor, Mo. McNally says the communities represented within MoRIT would be responsible for constructing the portion of the trail that fell within their boundaries.

Follow the Missouri Rock Island Trail, Inc., the coalition working on this rails-to-trails project, on Facebook here.

What else is going on around Missouri that will link with this proposed new rail trail?

From Windsor to Pleasant Hill, the agreements are already in place to create a trail called the Rock Island Trail State Park.  Missouri State Parks is currently work on one section of that trail and finalizing legal agreements on the remainder.

From Pleasant Hill in to Kansas City, negotiations are underway for a consortium of cities and counties to purchase the Rock Island corridor for use as a trail and commuter rail corridor.

So we are seeing several different pieces come into place that could turn the Rock Island Trail into a truly statewide trail corridor, on par with the Katy Trail State Park.

Creating this network of trails along the Rock Island corridor would create trail connections through many parts of central Missouri and could turn this part of Missouri into a real trail tourism destination.

In addition, a coalition in Sedalia is currently working on a deal to fill in a section of the Katy Trail through Sedalia where riders must currently leave the rail corridor and ride on-street. If Union Pacific agrees, the Katy Trail will become a continuous trail, with no on-street sections, from Clinton to Machens--and distance of 240 miles.

All in all, and exciting time to be working on rail trails in Missouri!

Encouraging the growth and development of trails across Missouri, the extension of the Katy Trail system to become a truly statewide trail system, and the creation and implementation of a statewide trails plan are among the priorities in MoBikeFed's Vision for Bicycling and Walking in Missouri.  Your membership and generous financial support helps make our Vision a reality!