Outward bound: Extensive expansion proposed for Poplar Bluff trail system

If several grants fall into line as officials hope they do, Poplar Bluff could benefit from a more extensive trail system in the near future.

The hope is to build an additional 3.2 miles of trail to connect the existing Shelby Road Trail to the Wolf Creek Trail west of the city.

“Essentially, it’s going to run from where Shelby Road and PP Highway meet, and it will pick up there and go down PP Highway and share the really wide shoulder there,” said Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce President Steve Halter.

Local officials hope grants can fund the extension of the Shelby Road Trail in Poplar Bluff to the Wolf Creek Trail's south trailhead (pictured).DAR/Paul Davis

“Then, right before the roundabout, we would add a separate asphalt trail on the side going all the way to County Road 447, which is the Wolf Creek south trailhead,” Halter added.

Overall, Halter said, the project is expected to cost around a half million dollars.

With sponsorship from the City of Poplar Bluff, Halter has applied for several grants to fund the project.

“The largest one we’ve applied for is the Recreational Trails Program through DNR (Missouri Department of Natural Resources),” Halter explained.

Another grant was applied for through People for Bikes.

“We’re hoping to apply for MoDOT’s Transportation Alternative Program,” Halter said. “The Recreational Trails Program and Transportation Alternative Program should be enough to fund it.”

In addition, he said, the chamber and the Poplar Bluff Parks and Recreation Department have agreed to help with any needed matching funds.

“We have a good plan for it, and we think we have a very competitive project,” said Halter of the grant applications.

Halter believes the expansion of the city’s trail system would “be a great addition, and I think it would be something that would really put us above our neighboring communities as far as accessibility, biking and walkability,” he said.

The idea behind the trail extension, he said, is to “get people from inside the city out onto the Wolf Creek Trail easily and safely, and to get people who live out in the county into the city safely and efficiently.

“There’s a lot of people that live out in that Township Line area that could potentially walk or even bike into work.”

If approved, Halter said, the expansion of the trail would “really, really enhance our trail system. The Forest Service is definitely for it. MoDOT’s definitely for it. The Park Department is definitely for it. We’re all working together on it.”

Construction work would be done in phases.

“Basically, we would get one phase done with the RTP funds and the other with MoDOT funds,” Halter said.

A timetable to find out about the grant applications, Halter said, isn’t known. With the current pandemic, the process has been slowed greatly.