BOONE, Iowa—The Boone County Trails Initiative was recently awarded a $100,000 grant from the Central Iowa Regional Transportation Planning Alliance (CIRTPA) at their May meeting.  These funds were allocated from CIRTPA’s FY 2021 budget and will go toward constructing the first segment of the High Trestle Trail to Boone alignment, a roughly 1.5 mile stretch between the High Trestle Trail and Swede Point Park.

The Trails Initiative was started by the Chamber in 2011 and has raised over $100,000 toward conducting public and landowner input sessions, researching county right-of-way and other trail pathway opportunities, and marketing the group’s efforts.  The High Trestle Trail to Boone trail alignment is proposed as an approximately 16-mile long, hard-surface path that would stretch from the High Trestle Trail near Madrid, north toward the Iowa Arboretum and Ledges State Park, before making its way into the south side of the city of Boone.  The trail is being developed by Snyder & Associates out of Ankeny, Iowa, the firm primarily responsible for the 25-mile long High Trestle Trail.

The county trails initiative is managed by the Boone County Trails Advisory Committee (BCTAC), a group made up of representatives from the cities of Boone, Madrid and Ogden, as well as county conservation, county supervisors, the Boone County Chamber of Commerce, and citizens from across the region. BCTAC continues to seek funds for this segment, and with assistance from Snyder will be submitting applications for State Recreational Trails funding, REAP and Federal Trails funding later this summer and fall.