Jackson planning next part of trail system

The city of Jackson has unveiled preliminary plans for the next leg of its trail system.

This one would be 1.5 miles long and run along Hubble Creek from West Mary Street at Jackson City Park to the city's soccer park that is due to open next year.

The trail is still a long way from approval. Last week, aldermen took a look at a feasibility study conducted by Crawford, Bunte and Brammeir, the same firm the city hired to come up with its comprehensive traffic program.

The firm drew up two proposals, a trail that would run on the east side of the creek and another that would run along the west side. The east alignment, the firm estimated, would cost $448,300 to build. The west alignment would cost roughly $548,000.

And that does not include property acquisition.

The feasibility study is the first step toward completion, but that doesn't mean the construction will begin any time soon.

"I need some time to study it," alderman Kerry Hoffman said. "We'll have to sit down and go through our five-year plan and see where it would fit and see what grants are available. But we've got a lot of things on the books right now. I think it will be down on the list."

The trail would be considered a luxury compared to some other ongoing issues. The city will soon take a serious look at expanding the city's fire protection. The town has outgrown its one station and city officials are in agreement that the city needs another fire facility on the east side of town. Then there's the Main Street extension which will lead to a new Interstate 55 interchange.

But the trails have been widely popular in Jackson and Cape Girardeau.

"It's the single most-used attraction in the city parks," parks director Shane West Anderson said.

Last year, a trail was built along Route D, connecting the city park with the middle school. The city also built wide sidewalks along Broadridge Drive, connecting the Middle School to Orchard and West Lane elementary schools.

The next step for the next 1.5 miles, public works director Rodney Bollinger said, is to initiate talks with property owners about right of way. Most of the trail is along commercial property in the area of Washington and Main streets, and along industrial tracts once it crosses under Highway 72. The trail will trace the edges of a residential neighborhood near Colorado Street.

The feasibility study cost $10,000. Eighty percent was paid for by the Missouri Department of Transportation. The city paid $2,000.

bmiller@semissourian.com

243-6635