While the basic route for a proposed recreational trail extending from Le Mars to Sioux City is settled, there are still several questions to be resolved for the “Plywood Trail”.
Meetings on the project were held again this past week in Hinton and Merrill, and project spokesman Ryan Meyer says bicycle trail advocates have settled on one proposed trail following the conclusion of a three option survey:
OC………..the other two. :22
The 16 mile trail between Le Mars and Sioux City would connect through Merrill and Hinton.
Meyer doesn’t know yet if the trail would be located on the east side of Highway 75, or run parallel on the west side of the highway:
OC…………you’re looking at :16
Meyer says the cost estimate to build the trail is currently 12 million dollars.
If it is built, there’s a proposal to cover the cost to maintain the trail, which run between $1,000 and 1,200 a mile:
OC……….maintenance of the trail. :19
Meyer says tax dollars would not be used to finance the project, and that it would be paid for through fund raising efforts and an endowment.
