Trains to walking: Olivette and Greenway plant to take rails to trail
After six years of negotiations, a section of rail line in Olivette set for new life as walking trail
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - It’s taken six years, and will take a few more, but there’s light at the end of the tunnel for a new trail running through Olivette -- helping to connect local parks with other outdoor areas around the St. Louis region.
The Great Rivers Greenway has signed a deal with the Union Pacific Railroad to officially abandoned a section of rails in Olivette near Bell Way and North Price Road. It hasn’t been used for train operations since at least the 1960s, and GRG officials say this will help complete a two-and-a-half mile section of the Centennial Greenway from Olive Boulevard to Warson Park.
GRG has been working since 2018 to see if obtaining this section was even possible. The group had to go to Washington D.C. and request the Surface Transportation Board to officially declare it abandoned so that GRG could attempt to buy the land. The STB is a federal agency in charge of economic regulation of trains.
These rails were selected in particular to meet local goals, and were selected as a major priority by the public during meetings in the past five years, Olivette City employees tell First Alert 4. It will be several years before this section is open and available for running, biking or hiking.
The City of Olivette and GRG have been working together to see about getting the land, and planning ways to connect many of the local trails and parks to the Greenway system.
"As part of the initial planning process, the Olivette community identified the preferred route for the greenway,“ GRG says. ”Part of this route included a 0.75-mile section of a dormant railroad track," the section now in their control.
While waiting to find out about this section, the GRG and city have been working on other greenway expansions -- including now complete improvements to the intersection of Olive and I-170; completing the greenway in Warson Park; and the nearly finished section stretching from Warson Park to Indian Meadows Park and on to Dielman Road.
GRG says next steps will include working with partners and Olivette residents to design the final section, starting roughly at Olive, (between the CVS and Chevy’s Fresh Mex) and heading northwest.
Avery Martinez covers water, ag & the environment for First Alert 4. He is also a Report for America corps member, as well as a member of the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk. His coverage goes from corn farms to hunting concerns, and local water rates to buffalo health.
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