Reply to Closure east of Claysville

The trail is temporarily closed east of Claysville at mile 147.2 due to a sinkhole in the culvert. Trail users will need to detour around this area by using U.S. Hwy. 63.

Thanks for the info. We were planning a Bville to JC ride this weekend (with reservations in JC already made). Is the detour well marked? Do you know how bike friendly Hwy 63 is?
Thanks so much for the heads up on this.

I called the MO Dept of Natural Resources about this, and they really didn't have much information. She said it should be well marked. No idea how long it will be closed.

Generally when they do this sort of thing, the detour runs from one trailhead to another, which in this case would be from the Claysville trailhead to the North Jefferson trailhead - but she was not certain that the detour ran between these two points.

To get a better idea of the situation, take a look at this interactive map of the trail. Double-click to zoom in on that area - you'll see that 63 actually crosses the trail between Claysville and JC. Click Hybrid at the top of the map to see a photo view. If you zoom in REAL close, you'll see that 63 is a divided hiway and appears to have shoulders. But that traffic is probably going 65+ MPH. It also looks like no trail access where 63 crosses over the trail.

Hopefully somebody out there can chime in with more info. If not, your best bet may be to call some of the bike shops in Jeff City, or businesses in Hartsburg, to see if anyone knows anything. I wish I had more info, but it seems we're all in the dark here - even the DNR folks.

Thanks for the reply. I also called today and the person I spoke to said the detour instructions are posted at Hartsburg and at the JC trailhead. She stated that 63 is a busy 4 lane highway. Also stated she wouldn't recommend it herself due to it being a busy 4 lane highway.
She stated it should be fixed by Monday. I asked if there was anyway to "cut" through the edge of the trail/in the woods for a bit but she said the trail is closed at the Cedar Creek (I think that was the name) bridge because the bridge was also damaged and needed some repair. So.....no way around it at all except for the detour.
Looks like we'll be staying more on the Western end of the trail for this weekend!

63 has a wide shoulder and uphill grades between North Jefferson Trailhead and Claysville Road. You are right Ray, traffic does travel at 65+, that is 65 + 15 MPH. Not very feasable to get on 63 where it crosses Katy Trail. Claysville Road is hilly and winding, about 2 miles from 63 to Katy Trail.

I got the following information from Hartsburg Cycle Depot (they are located in Jeff City but still maintain very close ties to Hartsburg):

"I have a friend/rider out on the trail everyday who updates me from Jeff to Tebbets or from Jeff to Hartsburg. It was not blocked off on Monday but by Tuesday it was, he says it looks pretty bad. It seem that with all the rain that the land has sunk or washed away from a concrete culvert revealing a big hole and loose surroundings.

"The 63 route is unfavorable, from the trail you will need to take the Katy spur to the pavilion that is on 4th street and just a jog down to Cedar City Dr.(Mo-AF)make a right, follow the road to the highway. From the trail head to the highway entrance (at the mobile home sales lot) is about 3 miles, it is then about 5miles up and down hills to Claysville road. Like any highway the shoulders are filled with debris that can cause flats. Claysville road does not have a shoulder and winds a bit up and down hills. I think even the most experienced road rider would shutter at the thought of riding 63 especially with drivers that know bound to the speed limit. This is the easiest way I think to go."

Thanks again to Pam at Hartsburg Cycle Depot for this update. Sounds pretty bad - I hope they fix it quickly!

I didn't think to check the website before I biked from Columbia to Jeff City today, so I didn't know about the closing until I was on it. I think there was a notice I overlooked back at Hartsburg. Anyway, I didn't want to backtrack to Claysville, and go all the way out to 63 and back, and I didn't want to bike on 63 either. So I walked my bike on the ~2 feet of bridge that extend beyond the rail. I'm sure that's terribly unsafe; do it at your own risk.

My buddy and I crossed the area as did Rachel and I found this not to be a problem at all! Ron

Is this fixed? I checked the DNR website, and they report no closures or hazards.

A person can walk a bike across the edge of the bridge. It's no problem if a person is careful. From the way the path was worn, many, many people were doing it. But like one person said, do it at your own risk. Sunday evening was beautiful on the trail!!

This bridge is now open, As stated by Rachel and Ron you were able to bypass the bridge by walking around but according to my calculations this could be done with minimal risk but do not attempt it on a Electra townie!

Good news! We'll be there in a couple weeks and I've been squinting at Google Earth trying to figure out the detour. Now I can just relax and enjoy looking forward to our trip.

Is this section of the trail fixed and ridable? We will be traveling on tandems with children in 2 weeks, just wanna be sure.