Crews started mobilizing Friday to begin work on the Missouri Pacific Trail, a new walking and biking path that should attract plenty of use through the heart of Iola.
The 10-block corridor, following the old Missouri Pacific rail corridor, will connect the Prairie Spirit Trail with the Colborn Park tennis courts near Iola High School.
The new trail is being built under direction of the Kansas Department of Transportation. Because it’s considered a state project, KDOT is funding roughly 80 percent of the $467,000 price tag.
Iola’s share — including extra fees for engineering and design — came to $101,000.
Those funds have already been paid using capital improvement funds generated by the city’s half-cent sales tax.
To accommodate the new trail, crews will remove trees and shrubs.
“They may need to do some clearing at the far east end, but that will be minimal,” Assistant City Administrator Corey Schinstock said.
The trail dissects the city from east to west. It will run nearly parallel with Benton Street
Schinstock said motorists should see little disruption, aside from where crews cut into curbs at the trail’s intersections with various streets. Traffic control signs were erected Friday.
A concrete structure near State Street will allow the trail to be elevated over a low-lying drainage area as well.
The concrete trail will be 10 feet wide, aside from a four-block stretch between Jefferson and Cottonwood streets, Schinstock said. That portion’s width will be trimmed to five feet wide. (Bicyclists will be encouraged to divert to Benton Street for that portion).
Crosswalks will be added at each street intersection, Schinstock said.
The trail provides an off-road connection between the Prairie Spirit Trail and central Iola, with easy links to both the high school and middle school, as well as downtown Iola.
The Missouri Pacific Railway Company built a line through Iola in 1881. The railroad was abandoned in the 1970s, and most of the tracks removed by the late 1980s, although the route remains visible.
Within Iola, the city either owns the right-of-way for most of the trail, or acquired easements for the rest.
Mo-Pac Trail work begins
