Ankeny to Woodward Trail Progress

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This page was updated in November 2008.

Update 11/07/08 $425,000 has been raised since July '08. $125,000 more is urgently needed by the end of November. Thanks to our members and friends who have already given for this trail!

After several years of planning and negotiations, the Ankeny to Woodward Trail officially launched in November 2005 when the Union Pacific Railroad sold the 25-mile corridor to the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation at a reduced price, providing the project’s first major donation. The corridor is now owned by each of the five city and four county jurisdictions along its length.

In 2006, the city of Woodward paved a 1,000-foot section. In 2007, trail construction was completed on the "bookends" of the trail: approximately 1.3 miles of trail was paved in Woodward, and 1.5 miles was paved in Ankeny.

By fall 2008, the 19 miles of trail surface that connects Ankeny, Sheldahl, Slater and Madrid will be completed.

Vision Iowa awarded its $1.75 million grant on July 9, 2008—on condition that project partners raise an additional $550,000 by late November 2008. If fundraising is successful, construction can begin on the “big bridge” in Winter 2008-2009. An estimated $450,000 in additional funds will be needed by July 2009 to complete the entire trail by 2010.

Several other major public and private funders have helped the trail progress this far: Federal SAFETEA-LU, the federal Transportation Enhancement Program, the State Recreational Trails Fund, Community REAP Grants, The Wellmark Foundation, Madrid Friends of the Trail, and others. Paid project consultants, Snyder and Associates (lead engineering firm) and Shuck-Britson (bridge engineering firm) have also provided in-kind and financial contributions.

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