Residents in Poplar Bluff soon will see more opportunities for hiking, walking and bicycle riding, thanks to state and local funding for a new section of trail along a major thoroughfare.
The city of Poplar Bluff recently was notified it has been approved for a Transportation Alternatives Program grant through the Missouri Department of Transportation, something local officials said will help complete a trail project expected to be a boon to all residents.
“We got the award letter late last week,” said Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce President Steve Halter.
The $274,088 grant will be used to construct a connector trail between the city of Poplar Bluff’s existing Shelby Road Trail and the Mark Twain National Forest’s Wolf Creek Trail, west and north of the city.
“It’s 100% going to be used for connecting the trail system in town to the Wolf Creek Trail,” explained Halter.
The new project will include a total of 3.25 miles of connector trail, Halter said.
The first 1.4 miles of Highway PP, west of Shelby Road, will utilize the existing wide road shoulder as part of the trail, and west of that section, a new trail will be built.
“Where that shoulder runs out by Poplar Bluff Rehab, there will be a separate path built on the side,” said Halter.
The new section will be 1.85 miles long, running parallel to the north side of Highway PP and up West Lakeview Drive to the Wolf Creek Trail’s south trailhead.
The total expected project cost, Halter said, is a little over $500,000, so local agencies must chip in to match grant funds.
“The chamber and city and park department are going to pick up the rest of the matching funds,” Halter said.
Project partners include the Chamber, city of Poplar Bluff, Poplar Bluff Street Department, U.S. Forest Service, Poplar Bluff Parks and Recreation Department, Ozark Foothills Regional Planning Commission, Butler County Health Department, MoDOT, Butler County Commission and Butler County Community Resource Council.
“It’s just been a great partnership,” Halter said.
With funding now in place, Halter said, the next step is acquiring right-of-way access for the trail to be built.
“The biggest part at this point is to get people to work with us on the right-of-way, and I have a feeling we can get those people to do that,” Halter said. “I don’t see where it’s going to create much of a problem for most people.”
The connector trail, Halter said, will provide several benefits for residents and motorists who travel in that area.
“There’s a lot of positive things to it,” he said. “First, it allows people to get from the city out into the national forest, which is a big bonus, without ever having to load up their bike or whatever. They can just hop on the trail.
“If they’re in town enjoying the trails, they can just keep on rolling out that way.”
Likewise, the trail will allow residents living in the area to walk to work if they want to do so.
A bigger benefit, Halter said, is improved safety.
“One thing which should make everybody happy is just getting people off PP Highway where there’s no shoulder,” he said. As it is now, “if you come around a corner and someone’s on a bike or someone’s running, it could be disastrous.”
The trail also is expected to boost tourism to the area, Halter said.
“It allows us to market our area for longer trail rides and runs or whatever, because you’re essentially connecting 21 miles out there with something like 13 miles in town,” Halter said.
Additionally, in the long term, Halter said, officials hope to add more trails in the forest south of Highway PP.
“Doing so, you could potentially have an ultra marathon or a 50-mile bike ride right here in Poplar Bluff,” he said.
The time frame for the connector trail to be completed, Halter said, will depend on gaining the right-of-way access needed, but the grant process itself went very quickly.
“We applied for the grant at end of January, so this is record timing. To get a grant of this magnitude this early on in the conception of this project is pretty amazing really,” Halter said.
Construction, Halter said, still could happen relatively quickly.
“It takes a while for things like this to go from conception to reality, but I think this is going to go at relatively light speed,” he said.
In the meantime, another grant from the Department of Health and Senior Services’ Active Living Community of Practice program is funding new striping and sign installation along Highway PP.
“We’re currently working on spending those $10,000 in funds on striping and signing the portion of PP that’s on MoDOT’s curve,” Halter said.