The Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation has asked a federal agency to allow a likely-to-be abandoned Des Moines-area rail line to be converted to a multi-use recreation trail.
In a letter dated April 27, foundation president Joe McGovern asked the Surface Transportation Board to take the necessary steps to allow public use of the 12.2-mile stretch of rail line between Grimes and Des Moines that Norfolk Southern Railway Co. is proposing to be abandoned.
McGovern wrote that the foundation was writing the letter on behalf of the Polk County Conservation Board, and the cities of Des Moines, Grimes, West Des Moines, Clive, Urbandale and Windsor Heights. The proposed abandoned rail corridor “would provide an important connection between neighborhoods within … these communities and the broader Central Iowa Trail System,” McGovern wrote.
The rail line proposed to be abandoned stretches from Southeast 19th Street in Grimes into Des Moines, stopping near Water Works Park.
McGovern also asked that Norfolk Southern Railway not be allowed to dispose of the property or remove trail-related structures such as bridges and tunnels for at least 180 days after the abandonment is approved.
Several steps are involved in converting a former rail corridor to trail and the process “does not happen quickly,” Andrea Boulton, director of trails and community conservation for the foundation, wrote in an email.
It typically costs about $400,000 per mile to convert an abandoned rail line to a multi-use trail, according to information from the Iowa Department of Transportation. Costs are dependent on the type of terrain involved and whether the trail is near a stream of water.
In a related development, lawyers from the St. Louis law firm Lewis Rice will hold educational meetings next week to explain potential compensation claims of landowners who own property next to the rail line. The firm estimates that there are more than 230 property owners who have land next to the line.
The meetings are at 5:30 p.m. on Monday and 9 a.m., noon and 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. All of the meetings will be held at the Revel Hotel, 1121 Hickman Road in Urbandale.
More online: Read the letter from the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation to the Surface Transportation Board. Read the petition filed by Norfolk Southern Railway Co. asking to abandon the Grimes-to-Des Moines rail line.
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