PROGRESS: PlyWood organizers decide on route for trail

Members of the committee organizing the PlyWood Trail project and a consultant with McClure Engineering Co. shared their decision for the route during early February meetings in Le Mars and Hinton.

The route, known as the Central Route, was one of three choices shared with the public in October. The route begins in Le Mars and passes through Merrill and Hinton on its way to Sioux City.

It is the shortest of the three choices and also would have the least impact on landowners, as most of the property needed could be obtained in rights-of-way from cities and the Iowa Department of Transportation.

"Really, what it came down to is ... the other two both required property acquisition for either purchasing or getting easements to get onto private property," said McClure Transportation Team Leader Jeff Schug. "Trails do not have the right to condemn ground." 

The estimated cost for the project is $11.6 million, according to Schug. Trail organizers have said the funding will come from fundraising donations and state and federal trail grants. So far, a little over $1 million has been raised.

The next step will be obtaining a permit from the IDOT.

The PlyWood name is derived from the first few letters of Plymouth and Woodbury. The trail was first pitched in 2012 by the Siouxland Interstate Metropolitan Planning Council.

PlyWood Trail would have just under two miles in northern Woodbury County and 14 miles in Plymouth County.

Sioux City is the largest Iowa city without a trail connection to a neighboring town. Supporters have said the trail would boost biking and other recreational opportunities in the city since the metro trails are in need of connections.

"This link to our current trail system will go a long way to making us competitive with the other communities in the state of Iowa of equal size," said Craig Hartman, president of the Siouxland Trails Foundation.

Additionally, some metro bicyclists would welcome the chance to bike north into Plymouth County on a new trail.

Back in January, Schug said each of the three choices had supporters and detractors.

Other trail routes considered since October were the River Route, which would run along the Floyd River, and the West Route, which would not run along Highway 75 in the middle miles but rather veer a few miles west, south and then back east along country roads from Merrill to Hinton.