Rock Island Trail: Cyclists seeking a second cross-state trail in Missouri

The Associated Press covered the effort to create a new cross-state trail on the Rock Island Railroad corridor: 

Potential 200+ mile Rock Island Trail would cross Missouri and connect with the Katy Trail in two locations

Missouri bicyclists tout the Katy Trail as the nation's longest off-road route carved from a converted railroad line.

Now some two-wheel enthusiasts hope to convert another abandoned rail line into a second cross-state trail that could link to the Katy, offer nearly 400 miles of soft gravel and further advance their eventual goal of a trail network spanning the length of Missouri, from St. Louis to Kansas City.

The proposed Missouri Rock Island Trail would stretch from Windsor in the west for about 130 miles to the Franklin County town of Beaufort in the east while twice crossing the 236-mile Katy Trail, which is a state park. The project grew out of local trail efforts in communities such as Belle, Eldon, Gerald and Owensville but has the backing of the nation's largest trails organization.

"It could be an amazing tourism draw for these communities," said Brent Hugh, executive director of the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Federation. "We're looking at a [nearly] 400-mile trail system that would be the envy of all states." . . .

Chrysa Niewald, a retired Owensville schools administrator and leader of the not-for-profit Missouri Rock Island Trail Inc., said Ameren initially didn't include the group among its prospective bidders but subsequently opened the bidding process and extended the submission deadline.

Niewald said Owensville and other small towns whose economic fortunes rose and fell with the railroad's development and decline are in need of the fiscal boost she envisions a new trail could provide.

"When the railroad stopped operating, the communities started to cease to exist," she said. "They began to die."

A quarter-century ago, some rural residents feared a new path along the old Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad line, or MKT for short, would mean more trash, noise and misbehavior. Instead, towns such as Boonville, Rocheport and Hermann have embraced the Katy Trail with bed-and-breakfasts, restaurants and bike repair shops sprouting in once-vacant town squares.

Support for the trail has reached nearly 10,000 signatures.  If you support a major new cross-state trail in Missouri, please be sure to sign on in support!