Sad Day For A Future Rail-To-Trail

From a local news station KAKE.com…

The Butler County Commission voted Tuesday to allow the Kansas Department of Transportation to tear down an old railroad bridge over U.S. Highway 400.

The bridge just west of Santa Fe Lake Road hasn”t had tracks on it for years. KDOT wants to tear down the bridge for safety reasons and to allow highway improvements later this year.

A group called Prairie Travelers would like to see a pedestrian bridge put up in the same spot to someday connect with the Redbud nature trail of Andover – Augusta.

“It will change our image as a town”, said the group”s secretary, Ruth Holiday. “To be there for people who want to be outdoors and want to exercise.”

The commission voted four to 1 to have KDOT tear down the bridge with an eye toward putting up a pedestrian bridge if the pedestrian trail can be build to this area within a decade. Under the gentlemen”s agreement, KDOT would pay for 80% of the pedestrian bridge”s construction and the county would pay for 20%. The Prairie Travelers group would help with the fund raising effort.

News video here.

I don”t know how much faith I have in their “gentleman”s agreement” to place a new bridge. Besides I wanted to see the old bridge left in place. For me a big factor in the entertainment and historic value of a rail-to-trail is the former railroad infrastructure that is left in place.

You”ll remember (just kidding) in this video I rode the old railroad bed and across the bridge…

Here”s a slightly edited small excerpt of a rails-to-trails sales pitch that I sent to the County Commissioners involved in the decision making of the fate of this bridge. This just to give you an idea on how I feel about rails-to-trails in general.

The future rail-to-trail on this old railroad right-of-way will be such a great benefit to the counties and the communities along the trail. Almost everyone can use these trails from those in a baby stroller to those in wheelchairs and everyone in-between be it runners, walkers or bikers. So much physical and mental health benefit can be gained from rails-to-trails. Then there is the economic benefit. My wife and I are avid rails-to-trails users and have traveled all over the United States and in to Canada riding rails-to-trails leaving our tourist dollars all along the way.