Halfway to Humboldt, a sink hole over a culvert interrupts the old Santa Fe Railroad right of way. Much of the rest is a tangle of tree limbs, vines and undergrowth.
Tuesday evening a handful of rail trail enthusiasts, aboard all-terrain vehicles and a small four-wheel drive pickup truck, cruised what they hope soon will be an extension of the Prairie Spirit Trail.
They envision extending the trail from Iola to the north edge of Humboldt.
The volunteers, organized under auspices of Thrive Allen County, are equipped with two grants totaling nearly $50,000, one of $23,952 from the Sunflower Coalition and another of $25,000 from the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City.
Allen County commissioners also said Tuesday morning they would “help in any way we can,” which likely will be provision of crushed limestone for the trail’s surface. The rock would fulfill a $10,000 in-kind contribution required by the grants.
Work to extend the biking and walking trail from Cofachique Park in northwest Iola to Riverside Park is under way and should be completed by mid-summer. The city has intentions to complete the trail another couple of blocks so walkers could loop the park atop the dike built in the 1930s to protect the park from Neosho River flooding.
Thrive’s role, in addition to attracting grant money, is to encourage volunteers, here and in Humboldt, to develop the trail another six miles to connect Allen County’s two largest cities. Local efforts have the unqualified blessings of the Sunflower Rail-Trails Conservancy of Lawrence, which owns the right of way under auspices of federal rail-banking.
Rail-banking began when economics prompted railroads to abandon many lines while keeping open only major transcontinental routes. The concept is to keep rights of way intact so they could be reopened should need arise. Trails have replaced rails, but their construction hasn’t damaged the integrity of ballast and bridges put in originally for railroads.
A DOZEN volunteers got a better feel — sometimes literally — for what the right of way is like during a two-hour journey, occasionally interrupted by limbs and brush that had to be removed. Jay Kretzmeier’s foresight in bringing along a saw was handy.
The huge iron bridge over Elm Creek, built to carry six passenger trains and several freights each day, was the first stop. All agreed it was structurally sound, to the point that an army of walkers wouldn’t be a strain.
As the caravan inched its way south, several culverts, some of laid-up stone, were examined, and also found in good shape by naked-eye survey, except for the one where weathering had created the sink hole.
Joe Works, owner by B&W Trailer Hitches, Humboldt, said he had a chunk or two of concrete that would fill most of the hole, and could be topped with crushed rock.
Mainly, volunteers’ task will be to trim back vines, cedars and other vegetation that have crept onto the right of way over the years.
That will take some time, Kretzmeier allowed, and was willing to invest the effort.
Specific plans haven’t been laid out. That will be the next chore for the volunteers.
Safety will be the foremost concern, which will include upgrade of railings along the iron bridge and culverts where drop-offs could pose a danger.
