The possible expansion of the Rail Trail System would connect Baldwin City to Ottawa. A multi-use trail project along the Midland Railway Tracks will soon be moving forward in Baldwin and city officials will also be seeking $20 million in Grants for a project that would link the city with a 51 mile trail that connects Ottawa and Iola. The Kansas Department of Transportation will soon be starting the bidding process for construction of a concrete multi-use trail on the east side of the Midland Tracks. The trail will be eight feet wide and will run from the existing multi-use trail on Elm Street to the Old Santa Fe Depot, just south of High Street. Typically the city would also be responsible for the project’s easement acquisition, but in 2018 the city purchased a 15 foot wide trail easement along the entire route of the Midland Tracks in Baldwin City and south to the line’s terminus, near Ottawa.
Baldwin City Administrator, Glenn Rodden, says the City has made two Grant applications, one on the state level and the other through a federal program, that if approved, would provide $20 million to complete the trail along the entire length of the Midland Tracks, or about 12 miles. The proposed trail would link to the Prairie Spirit Trail State Park, a 51 mile trail that connects Ottawa to Iola, which would attract thousands of bicyclists from Kansas City and Lawrence, hopping on the expanded trail.
