In just 10 years, the Iowa side of the Mississippi River Trail has come a long way.
From
just signage to a now-paved path in many places, the Clinton area
portion of the trail offers amenities that make it safer, easier to ride
and more attractive to potential riders.
The
Mississippi River Trail offers nearly 3,000 miles of trails from the
headwaters in Minnesota all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico while
traveling through 10 states, including Iowa.
Former
Iowa legislator Clyde Bradley, a retired engineer who lobbied and
contributed to the Clinton and Camanche portion of the project, said the
trail has come quite a way since a feasibility study was done in 2005.
The
original project connected the Clinton and Camanche portions of the MRT
by adding signs to Clinton’s existing trail and extending it along the
former U.S. 67 into Camanche. It was completed with a $2.1 million
federal grant with a 20 percent match from Clinton and Camanche.
He said the whole process was a lot of work but, “I’m glad we saw it to fruition, we needed it.”
Now
going forward, Bradley said while he’ll be taking a step back from
being as directly involved, he’d like to see more safety measures put in
place and to create more access for children to get to the trails.
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