Next step for statewide Rock Island Trail: Jackson County approves bond issue to purchase section of RR corridor

In September 2015, partners Jackson County and KCATA announced a partnership and an agreement to purchase 17.7 of the Rock Island RR corridor for use as a trail and, eventually, as a commuter rail corridor. Recently the County and KCATA have been completing the steps needed to finalize that agreement and purchase the corridor from Union Pacific.

At a recent meeting of the Jackson County Legislature, the legislature gave approval for the issue of $52 million in bonds to purchase the westernmost section of the Rock Island railroad corridor.  County officials expect purchase of the 17-mile section of the Rock Island corridor to move forward within the next few weeks or months and trail work to begin as early as this summer.

Tom Gerend, Brent Hugh, and Eric Rogers spoke to the Legislature in support of the proposal while Cal Williford, Chief of Staff of County Executive Frank White looks on.

This segment will be a key connecting section of a world-class, 500+ mile statewide trail loop system, stretching from state line to state line, encompassing the existing Katy Trail and the new Rock Island Trail.

Former Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders, who has championed the Rock Island corridor project, presented information about the project and plans. Current Jackson County Executive Frank White also spoke in support of the proposal.

Eric Rogers of BikeWalkKC, Tom Gerend of the Kansas City Streetcar Authority, and Brent Hugh of the Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation spoke in favor of the proposal. This section will create the final trail connection to bring the Katy Trail into the heart of the Kansas City area and will also extend the Rock Island Trail into Kansas City.  Both trails will eventually extend from state line to stateline, connecting the St Louis and Kansas City areas with numerous communities in between.

Creating this key trail connection has been a top priority of the Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation for over two decades.  Approval of the bond issue this month is the next step in making this trail connection a reality. We expect purchase of the rail corridor to be completed soon.

The Examiner wrote:

Jackson County officials and others say the purchase of unused railroad tracks -- a process that has taken years -- will help transform the way the metro area’s public transit system develops. The immediate plan is for a bike trail, but officials hope someday to run commuter rail service through the same corridor.

“I am a very, very strong advocate of that project – that development – and it can’t happen fast enough for me,” Steve Klika, chairman of the Kansas City Area Transit Authority and vice chairman of the Johnson County Board of Commissioners, told Jackson County legislators Monday.

Jackson County Legislature discusses the bond issue for purchase of the Rock Island corridor

The County Legislature on Monday approved $52 million in bonds to buy 17.7 miles of tracks from the Union Pacific Railroad. The old Rock Island tracks, unused for 35 years, run from near Arrowhead and Kauffman stadiums southeast through Raytown to the Longview area of Lee’s Summit. . . .

Officials hope to issue the bonds by the end of the month and have talked about a big public kickoff event in early May. Officials have not said when bicyclists and hikers could be enjoying the trail but have said in the past that it could take a couple years. The county has $10 million in federal money in hand to cover all or most of the construction. 

“It’s great to see this day happening,” said Brent Hugh, executive director of the Missouri Bicycle and Pedestrian Foundation.

He said connecting the Katy Trail to Kansas City has been the group’s top priority for years. That trail, which runs east-west across most of the state, is being pushed north from Windsor to Pleasant Hill, and the new Jackson County trail would come out within a few miles of that Pleasant Hill trailhead. . . .

“The longer the trail, the farther people will travel to visit it,” he said.

Former Jackson County Executive Mike Sanders and his Chief of Staff Calvin Williford made the Rock Island corridor a centerpiece of his term in office

What does the future Rock Island Trail network look like?

What will the entire Katy Trail-Rock Island Trail statewide trail loop look like?  See this zoomable map of the planned trail system.

The Rock Island Trail consists of these segments--each with its own history, owners, potential owners, and progress: 

• Segment 1: ~24.8 miles - Rock Island, Pleasant Hill to KC. The current Jackson County/KCATA purchase is for 17.7 miles of this segment, leaving a small gap between the Jackson County segment and existing trail in Pleasant Hill.
• Segment 2: 47.6 miles - Rock Island, Pleasant Hill to Windsor - result of the Taum Sauk settlement with Ameren (State Parks).  This segment was railbanked earlier in 2014 and salvage work/trail construction is currenctly underway. There is another small segment of trail about 0.6 miles, through and near Pleasant Hill.
• Segment 3: 143.7 miles - Rock Island, Windsor to Beaufort (near Washington) (State Parks).  This is the segment the STB approved railbanking in late 2014.
  

  The Rock Island combined with the Katy Trail will make a 457-mile cross-state trail loop (click for full-sized version)

• Segment 4: ~20-40 miles - Work to plan the final connection between the Rock Island at Beaufort, Washington City, and the Katy Trail is underway and under intense discussion by Missouri State Parks, local officials in the Washington area, and Ameren.  They assure us that a good solution will be found.  This segment could add 20-40 miles, more or less, to the total Katy/Rock Island trail loop mileage depending on details.

• Segments 5+: Connections between the Katy & Rock Island Trails are possible between Warsaw and Sedalia, at Jefferson City, at Hermann, and in other places.  In addition, connections to the ends of the trail system are possible on both ends and at some points in between. We could easily end up with a few dozen more miles of connecting trail.  Stay tuned!

  

  Representatives of MoBikeFed and MoRIT meet with Ameren to deliver petition signatures in support of the Rock Island Trail. The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy played a key role in promoting the trail, helping build nationwide support, and in submitting a competitive bid to purchase the corridor.
  
   

• TOTAL Rock Island Trail mileage Kansas City to Beaufort, is 216.7 miles

• TOTAL Katy Trail milage is 240 miles. By the RR mile markers, the Katy is 237.7 miles, but the trail diverges from the RR corridor in a few place. Missouri State Parks confirms that Total katy Trail mileage is currently 240.
• TOTAL Katy Trail/Rock Island system will be 457 miles plus an additional ~20-40 miles for the Beaufort-Dutzow connection near Washington. We will most likely end up with more than 500 miles in our statewide trail loop.

When the new Rock Island Trail segments are complete, that will rocket Missouri to the forefront of states with long, interconnected trail systems.  With the addition of major planned trail systems in the St Louis, Kansas City, Columbia, Springfield, and other areas of the state, the state's trail system starts to look formidable indeed.

Find out more about the trail on our Missouri Rock Island Trail page.

One of the top goals of MoBikeFed's Vision for Bicycling and Walking in Missouri is building a world-class bicycle and pedestrian transportation system in Missouri.  The addition of the Rock Island Trail to Missouri's statewide trail system is the biggest single advance we have seen in Missouri in over 20 years.

Your membership and generous financial contributions help turn our Vision into reality--building the statewide public support for bicycling, walking, and trails that make major advances like the Rock Island Trail possible.

Photo credits:
Legislature testimony: Jackson County Rail
Others: Missouri Bicycle & Pedestrian Federation