Ankeny to Woodward Trail update

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This article first appeared in INHF's Winter 2007 magazine.

Lisa Hein/INHF

In November 2005, the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation purchased a 25-mile railway corridor from the Union Pacific Railroad. The railbanked corridor, which connects Ankeny and Woodward, is being converted to a multi-use trail and will become part of the proposed Central Iowa Trail Network. Here are the latest updates on this long-term project:

• Corridor ownership has been transferred in segments from INHF to the public agencies along the route: the four county conservation boards (Dallas, Boone, Story and Polk) and five towns (Woodward, Madrid, Slater, Sheldahl and Ankeny).
  
  
• These partners have formally established the Ankeny to Woodward Trail Steering Committee. The committee guides corridor management, fundraising and construction. Their meetings, which are open to the public, are held at the Madrid Community Center on the first Friday of each month at 9 a.m.
  
  
• The group has hired Snyder and Associates as the lead engineers and Shuck-Britson as the engineering firm for the bridges. Iowa ceramic artist David Dahlquist has been hired with a grant from the Iowa Arts Council to help design the landmark bridge over the Des Moines River and to create an arts “master plan” for the corridor. An additional $4,600 in private funds is needed to match the Iowa Arts Council Grant.
  
  
• The entire corridor is now open for public use, but the large rock ballast left over from the railroad can make walking or bicycling difficult in areas. Future uses include walking, bicycling, in-line skating and other non-motorized activities. Equestrian use is planned between Woodward and Slater, where the railroad used a wider corridor to accommodate a double track.
  
  
• The first 1,000-foot section of trail has been constructed in Woodward with funds from a 2004 REAP grant.
  
  
• Thanks to Boone County’s secondary road department, the Boone County segment between the Des Moines River, Madrid and Slater has been graded.
  
  
• Meanwhile, INHF is negotiating with Union Pacific for additional corridor purchases in Iowa.

For updates on this project, visit www.a2wtrail.org or contact Lisa Hein, INHF’s Program and Planning Director.

For more information, e-mail Cathy Engstrom, Director of Communications, or call (515) 288-1846.