A years-long dream for several Iolans will be celebrated Saturday with the grand opening of the King of Trails Bridge.
The pedestrian bridge spanning Elm Creek along South Washington Avenue connects Iola proper with the Lehigh Portland Trails complex, Gates Corporation and other points south.
The 2 p.m. ribbon-cutting will include a free bike helmet giveaway, snacks and comments from several of the collaborators.
Thrive Allen County’s regular community bike ride, normally on Sundays, will be pushed up a day to coincide with Saturday’s activities.
That the event is set for the first weekend in May — National Bike Month — is a bonus, noted Damaris Kunkler, director of community engagement for Thrive.
The bridge illustrates how effectively projects involving several players can work, Kunkler said.
While a City of Iola project, Thrive spearheaded a wildly successful fundraising effort to pay for the $345,000 span.
Grant funding covered all but $12,500 of the project.
The breakdown: $197,000 from the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, $76,112 from the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City, $30,000 each from Sunflower Foundation and Thrive Allen Countys Community Engagement Initiative, $10,000 from People For Bikes and $2,500 from New Belgium Brewing.
The city paid for the rest, through its capital projects fund, with added staff time, noted Corey Schinstock, assistant city administrator.
“Having grassroots support makes something like this a lot easier to sell to the City Council,” Schinstock said. “We’ve put in staff time, but financially, don’t have much in it.”
The city agreed to pay for the limestone material crews used to fill the bottom of Elm Creek, allowing a crane to work from beneath the bridge.
“The contractor didn’t want to have to haul it off, so they gave us a good price for it,” Schinstock said.
The linings were placed along the bank adjoining the bridge, vastly improving the looks of the bridge, and serving as an effective anti-erosion measure.
The effort was a learning experience in other ways. Kunkler noted Thrive wasn’t the first local group to pursue the pedestrian bridge. Iola’s Community Involvement Task Force/ PRIDE Committee had looked into the issue several years ago.
