The Sauk Rail Trail was one of only six trail systems in Iowa selected to receive a portion of $5 million in grant funding provided to the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) through the coronavirus relief bill passed by Congress last year. According to State Recreational Trails (SRT) Program Manager, Scott Flagg, they received more than 80 applications requesting over $70 million for projects throughout the state. Flagg says many of the proposed trail rehabilitation proposals deserved funding, but the Sauk Rail Trail application stood out from the others.
The Carroll County Conservation Board was awarded $900,186 through the COVID-19 Relief Recreational Trails program with another $200,000 approved by the Carroll City Council and Carroll County Board of Supervisors to repave the trail from Swan Lake to U.S. Highway 30 and beyond towards Maple River. The grant requires the rehabilitation work to be completed no later than September 2023, and Flagg says the DOT will be assisting Carroll County Conservation throughout the project.
Flagg says grant opportunities for trails are always extremely competitive, but they are even more so now with the heightened demand for outdoor recreation following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic 18 months ago.
More information about the restoration work planned for the Sauk Rail Trail are expected to be released by Carroll County Conservation in the coming weeks. Other projects selected for funding through the program include: the Great Western Trail near Des Moines; the Prairie River Trail in Webster County; the Prairie Springs and Prairie Farmer Trails in Howard County; the Raccoon River Valley Trail in central Iowa; and the American Discovery Trail near Waterloo.
