Eight years in the making, trail nears completion

Sun July 29 2007
Posted Jul 29, 2007
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By Nick Hytrek Journal staff writer CORRECTIONVILLE, Iowa -- The gray ribbon of fresh concrete stretches from the southern edge of town, rising, falling and curving with the gentle contour of the land. Past soybeans and through trees, it stops just past the bridge that spans the Little Sioux River. There, the gray turns to a brown, dusty outline of what remains to be paved of the recreation trail that soon will link Correctionville with Little Sioux Park. In roughly a month, years of planning, fundraising -- and sometimes doubting -- will come to an end when the 1.7-mile trail opens. Local residents who have watched the progress eagerly await the opening of what will be a safer way for them to walk or ride bicycles to the park. "I think it'll be fun. It'll be safer riding on that than on the highway," Correctionville resident Erica Talbert said recently while checking out at Valley Grocery. City businesses also hope to see economic benefits. No longer having to share Iowa Highway 31 with motor vehicles, the roughly 275,000 campers who visit the park annually can use the safer route to walk, skate or ride bicycles into town to buy snacks or other supplies. "It's a great addition for Correctionville," Valley Grocery manager Kami Byers said. "Hopefully it increases business, but I'm also glad because it'll make it safer for kids." Paving is expected to be completed next week. Other crews will fill in the shoulders, build boundary fences and erect signs and benches along the trail. Woodbury County Conservation Board Director Rick Schneider said the trail will officially open sometime before Labor Day. "It's nice to see the paving start because it's really starting to look like a trail," Schneider said. "It's nice to finally see an end in sight." When the trail idea surfaced in 1999, that end often was the edge of the river, where a 115-year-old historical railroad bridge reached only halfway across the gurgling waters beneath. The other half had fallen victim to a salvager years ago. While the conservation board tediously acquired right of way and secured grant funding, engineers spent months figuring out how to make use of the 647-foot-long bridge and its approaches. The bridge is now a merger of old and new. The original truss still stands on the west half of the river; a new span reaches from the east bank to meet it. The bridge alone made up two-thirds of the $991,000 cost for the trail, which is being paid for with $860,000 in grant funding plus money from the conservation board's improvement budget. Standing on the bridge, Schneider gazes toward the unpaved portion of the trail. At times, he said, it seemed the trail would never be built. Now, he envisions the oaks, maples and evergreens that will be planted along the trail. He can picture the deer, raccoons and geese that inhabit the area curiously watching walkers on their way to and from the park. Chuckling, he said, "It's just been a real exercise in patience." Soon, it will be a real place to exercise. Nick Hytrek can be reached at 712-293-4226 or nickhytrek@siouxcityjournal.com. -- When completed in mid-August, the trail will link Correctionville with Little Sioux Park, the largest of the Woodbury County Conservation Board's parks, drawing about 275,000 visitors annually. -- The 1.7-mile concrete trail is mostly flat, and will provide easy biking, skating and walking, said Rick Schneider, conservation board director. -- Elk Horn Construction Company of Sergeant Bluff is the contractor for the $991,655 project. -- The conservation board has secured $860,000 in grant funding. The remainder of the cost will come from the board's improvement fund. -- The City of Correctionville hopes to link the trail to an approximately 3.5-mile trail loop it plans to establish along existing streets within the town.