The Poplar Bluff Parks and Recreation Department recently was awarded a grant to extend a walking trail along Kanell Boulevard.
“It is a Recreational Trails Program grant through Missouri State Parks, but it’s federally funded,” said Parks and Recreation Department Director Lanny Corcimiglia.
The project is dubbed the Pike Creek Trail Extension Phase IV.
The total estimated project cost, Corcimiglia estimated, will be around $361,000, but likely will change once final plans are developed.
The $250,000 grant will be matched by local funding of about $111,000.
The matching grant will fund the extension of an existing trail on the north side of Kanell Boulevard, from its current stopping point at Lurlyn Drive east to Westwood Boulevard.
The new section of trail, Corcimiglia said, will be 2,218 feet long.
“It will be a 6-foot wide concrete trail,” he said.
On the hill between Lurlyn and Euel, Corcimiglia noted, a retaining wall 610 feet in length also will be constructed.
With the grant approval, Corcimiglia said, the next step in the process is to have an environmental analysis completed per the federal National Environmental Policy Act.
That process, Corcimiglia said, will determine if any measures need to be taken before construction can begin.
Once the environmental study is completed and any issues rectified, he said, the project can move into the preliminary design phase.
Beyond the newly-funded trail extension, Corcimiglia said, future plans include extending the trail eastward across Westwood Boulevard and onward to Back Park.
“We’ll work with the right-of-way and with MoDOT,” Corcimiglia said, including getting some push buttons for the crossing at the traffic light.
The park department also will work with the Poplar Bluff School District on how best to route the future extension around the middle school property and to Bacon Park.
Several different ideas have been proposed, including running the future trail adjacent to the school pickup line to Highland Drive.
“There is potential to build a trail from the light to Highland Drive, then down Highland to Bacon Park,” Corcimiglia explained.
With the environmental study, preliminary design and final design work ahead, Corcimiglia noted, he doesn’t expect work on the Kanell Boulevard trail extension to begin before the fall months.
The newly-funded extension, he said, must be completed by Dec. 31, 2024.