The Dallas County Conservation Board has received approval for funding for a State Recreational Trails Grant from the Iowa DOT. A grant for $366,000 has been approved for the “Connector” project, which is the 9-mile trail linking the Raccoon River Valley Trail to the High Trestle Trail (Perry to Woodward).

“This grant will be used along with some other donations and potential grants to do the first phase -- 1.5 miles -- of construction of this $5 million project,” said Mike Wallace, director of the Dallas County Conservation Board. Earlier grants have been used for trail route feasibility, preliminary design, and land acquisition. This phase of construction is preliminarily planned for sometime during 2018.

Wallace said the work will start "at the Perry High School sports complex and basically utilize a former railroad right-of-way and go east to 130th Street."

Approximately $2 million has been raised so far for the whole "Connector" project.

For more information on how you can support this trail development, go to www.letsconnectdallascounty.com. To read the news release about this grant and other trail funding announced Tuesday by the Iowa DOT, go to http://bit.ly/2kEgOjy.