Rail trail volunteers gathered early Saturday morning to begin work on the bike trail extension from Humboldt to Iola.
In April, Allen County was approved for a $22,818 grant from the Sunflower Foundation to build the Prairie Spirit Trail Extension. Three months later a group met with chainsaws, a brush hog and a Kubota RTV past the Riverside Park at Nebraska and State Street.
At 9 a.m. work commenced and 1.5 miles of weeds and grass was cut down.
The trail extension is being pushed forward with the help of Thrive Allen County. Board member Don Burns was there to help and oversee the work. The group trimmed back trees, cut high grass and pulled weeds to give roughtly five feet of space on each side of the trail, Burns said.
As the organization behind the trail extension, Thrive has recruited volunteers who want to see the extension built. “This extension will be great for the Humboldt people to come to Iola and vice versa,” bicyclist Theresa Berntsen said.
The bicyclists are looking at looking at the addition from a safety point of view. Today, bicyclists have to use the main roads to get to the bike trail but with this extension it will be a lot safer, Berntsen said.
Berntsen’s son Michael also was out with a chainsaw cutting weeds and brush. Michael, who usually is a farm worker, was out on Saturday helping his mom since she is a bike rider, he said.
Tim and Liz Cox were also out at the trail on Saturday morning. “My wife and I ride the trail,” Tim said. “The extension is something that we would get use out of.”
The other volunteers working on Saturday morning were Lisa and David Fontaine and Frank Porter.
To find out how you can help with the trail extension contact Thrive Allen County by calling (620) 365-8128 or stop by their office located at 2 E Jackson Ave.
