Reply to Open house in Boonville

If you're planning to be in the Boonville area on Saturday, Aug. 25, join us at the Boonville Trailhead for an open house from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Staff will be on hand to answer questions about the western section of the trail. Come provide us with your comments and suggestions about the trail.

Dawn thanks for posting this, wish I could be there. If I could ask DNR about the western section, my question would be about the status of the eagerly-awaited Rock Island extension from Windsor to Pleasant Hill.

Ray, thanks for the question about the Rock Island. When completed, the 47-mile trail will be its own state park, Rock Island Trail State Park (http://mostateparks.com/park/rock-island-trail-state-park). It will connect to the Katy Trail at Windsor and, from there, will travel to Pleasant Hill. Work on three miles of the trail between Purvis Road and Highway P southeast of Pleasant Hill should be completed later this year. Bids are being awarded for construction of several bridges and overpasses so the two-mile section between Purvis Road and Pleasant Hill can be completed as quickly as possible. Once these are completed, we plan on opening the entire five miles from Pleasant Hill to Highway P in late 2013.

Because the trail is being built using the former Rock Island Railroad corridor, Ameren Missouri, the primary stakeholder in the company that owns the Rock Island Railroad, must work through the rails-to-trails conversion process with the federal Surface Transportation Board. This was required on the initial five-mile section before Missouri State Parks could complete the trail. Ameren Missouri must also complete this process for the remaining 42 mile section between Highway P and Windsor before Missouri State Parks can begin development of the remaining section.

Is there an estimate for the completion of the remaining 42 mile section?

Trek, sorry for the delay in response, I just now saw your question. Because completing the 42 remaining miles is contingent upon Ameren successfully negotiating the conversion process, there really isn't an anticipated completion date at this time. The best bet for updates is to check the Rock Island website periodically, send us an email at moparks@dnr.mo.gov, or post your questions here and I'll see if I can get them answered.