ROCORI TRAIL Ground Breaking
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Cold Spring, Minnesota USA
9:00 AM (coverage begins at 8:55)
To see other DigElogROCORI ROCORI Trail Stories click on the graphic below.
Thursday, June 28th
Behind Teal's Market
Cold Spring, Minnesota USA
To see other DigElogROCORI ROCORI Trail Stories click on the graphic below.
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On Tuesday, April 10, 2012, the ROCORI Trail Construction Board – covering Rockville, Cold Spring, and Richmond – purchased a large corridor of land from the Burlington Northern-Sante Fe (BNSF) Railroad.
The purchase price was $1,298,000 for approximately 1,428,000 square feet, or about 33 acres, of land from BNSF. The land covers a corridor from 178 Avenue North between Richmond and Cold Spring and runs just to the east of the Sauk River in Cold Spring. This represents phase 1 of a three-phase trail project that will eventually run all the way through Rockville to Suburban Raquet Club.
The funding of this purchase and the upcoming construction project was made possible through more than $2 million in federal and state grants, monies from the three cities and Stearns County, and many generous donations.
Without delay, the railroad ties on the west end of the project are coming out today, which signals the start of construction of the largest section of the Rocori Trail to date (Rockville’s downtown portion was built in 2009). Paving the trail and preparing safety features to the Sauk River Bridge are the next steps, and this phase is expected to be completed by the end of this summer.
“We have worked hard since 2003 to make this trail a reality in our time.” said Duane Willenbring, Chair of the ROCORI Trail Construction Board. “There is still much to be done and more trail to build, but we look forward to fulfilling the promises of this wonderful addition to our area. This is a good time to pause and celebrate hard work and our greater community. ”
The Trail Board publicly thanks Burlington Northern-Sante Fe Railroad; Roger Schwinghammer at Jones, Lang, and LaSalle for representing the Railroad; the officials at Stearns County involved in this joint process; Adam Ripple of the Rinke Noonan Law Firm; Heidi Peper and Scott Hedlund of Short Elliot Hendrickson; and all of the donors and volunteers to date that have made this trail process come to life. The Rocori Trail Committee is made up of representatives from all three cities, the County, the DNR and consultants – many of whom have been on board since 2003 – nine years of monthly or so meetings! Your service is greatly appreciated!
To see other DigElogROCORI ROCORI Trail Stories click on the graphic below.
In this story you will hear from Cold Spring City Administrator Larry Lahr as he gives us another ROCORI Trail Project update. Just recently, Governor Tim Pawlenty approved more funds to be allocated to the ROCORI Trail Project. This is significant news because due to the financial status of the state of Minnesota, Pawlenty was forced to veto many trail project requests. Watch this story to learn more about what is going on with the trail.
(Click Image to see more coverage of the ROCORI Trail Project)
Click either the photo or "QUICKTIME" to see a short video on many of the key trail development facts and ideas.
The Rocori Trail Committee held an informational public meeting on Thursday, October 27th at 7:00 p.m. at the Rocori High School Cafeteria to discuss the trail project.
About 60 persons attended the meeting which began with an overview of the project by Heide Pepper with Short Elliot Hendrickson Inc.
There was a panel of representatives from federal, state and local agencies that have been involved in this project or similar projects, who were available to share their experiences or answer specific questions related to their field of expertise. The panelists included representatives from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Stearns County Parks Department, National Parks Service, the State Bike Advisory and the Rocori School District.
These
experts addressed various audience questions and concerns. After the question/answer session, attendees will
have the chance to visit individual organization’s display tables for
more information and handouts. Participants also enjoyed refreshments including
trail mix and beverages.
The proposed trail would span a total
length of 12.2 miles, starting at the east side of Richmond and ending
near Stearns County Road 6 in Rockville. The trail would be constructed
in two phases with the first covering from Richmond to Cold Spring and
the second continuing from the eastern end of Cold Spring to Rockville.
The committee estimates the earliest that construction could begin on
the first phase would be 2008, with the second phase beginning in 2009.
Through the many discussions about the proposed trail, there
have been two possible routes identified for the trail to follow.
Although the committee has been working towards determining the best
route, neither route has been finalized. The first route would have the
trail located on the right-of-way for the railway that connects the
three communities. The second proposed route would use mostly public
right-of-ways, and would likely be located at the edge of the
right-of-way in the road ditches.
The
estimated cost for phase one of the trail is $784,957, and
$1,021,925 to complete phase two. Each City Council of the three cities
of Richmond, Rockville and Cold Spring have passed resolutions in
support of the Rocori Trail Project and have pledged to contribute a
local match of $32,000. These costs are committed on the condition that
grant funding is secured to fund the balance of the project costs. The
committee hopes to be awarded grants through the federal government and
the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. In addition to these
funds, area cities hope that successful community fundraising efforts
will reduce the cost to local governments even further.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27th, 7:00 PM
ROCORI High School Cafeteria
The Rocori Trail Committee will be holding an informational public meeting on Thursday, October 27th at 7:00 p.m. at the Rocori High School Cafeteria to discuss the trail project. The meeting will begin with an overview presentation from the project engineer, Short Elliot Hendrickson Inc.
Next, there will be a panel of representatives from local agencies that have been involved in this project or similar projects, who will be available to share their experiences or answer specific questions related to their field of expertise.
The panelists include representatives from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Stearns County Parks Department, National Parks Service, and City Administrators from Richmond, Cold Spring and Rockville. These experts will be available to answer questions and address concerns from audience members. Finally, after the panel discussion, attendees will have the chance to visit individual organization’s display tables for more information and handouts. Refreshments will be available including trail mix and beverages.
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