Work to begin on new Katy Trail segment in Kansas City area

PLEASANT HILL, Mo. -- Gov. Jay Nixon said work will begin this month on linking the Kansas City area to the Katy Trail that stretches across the state.

Nixon was in Pleasant Hill on Friday at what is planned to be the westernmost trail head of the trail. The 46-mile segment will link the area to Windsor, where the trail now passes.

Once completed, hikers and bicyclists will be able to use the trail from Pleasant Hill to St. Charles in St. Louis.

The work is being paid for with $18 million from a settlement the state reached with AmerenUE following the collapse of the Taum Sauk reservoir. Nixon negotiated the settlement while he was attorney general.