$4.3M East Waco walking trail on converted rail line almost done

East Waco will officially have a new $4.3 million lighted walking trail by January, though portions are already seeing use.

The city and contractors are nearing completion on a rail-to-trail project transforming 1.2 miles of former railroad right of way into a concrete walking path.

Funded partially by a federal grant, the city hired Walker Partners to design the trail and Barsh Construction Co. to build it. The path is 12 feet wide, meant to accommodate cyclists and pedestrians, and runs from Sherman Street to Gholson Road along a portion of the decommissioned Missouri-Kansas-Texas railroad route.

The total award for the project was $4.28 million, including $2.3 million that came through a federal Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside Program grant, specifically for converting portions of unused rail lines into trails, officials said.

To qualify for the federal grant, the project had to be included in one of the future transportation plans adopted by the Waco Metropolitan Planning Organization, MPO director Mukesh Kumar said.

"Waco MPO is very positive about the impact this project is expected to have on offering alternative means of transportation, improving equitable access to transportation alternatives and green spaces, and its public health outcomes," Kumar said.

Long-term plans call for the path to be extended farther on both ends.

Running the length of the path already installed, a series of LED lights spaced about 20 yards apart will accommodate nighttime use.

Brick inlayed distance markers will be installed each half-mile, city spokesperson Monica Sedelmeier said. Most of the rails along the route were removed years ago, but some of the remaining segments were dug up and used for decorative features at trailheads.

Most locations where the trail crosses streets will have traffic humps built into the roadway as traffic-slowing features to improve safety, officials said.

Freshly painted benches and trash cans are in place at the Sherman Street and Gholson Road trailheads. A central trailhead at Faulkner Lane and Garrison Street will also have a trail sign that provides a bit of the history of the railway, Sedelmeier said.

Crews could be seen Wednesday putting in sod near the Sherman Street trailhead, less than a block from Waco Drive.

Installation of some of the trees and other landscaping features, as well as minor roadway work remain to be completed, Sedelmeier said.

The Missouri Kansas Texas Railroad Co. started operations in 1865 shortly after the Civil War and reached Waco during the 1880s, according to wacohistory.org . The MKT served an extensive rail network in Texas, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma. The late 19th century saw great economic growth in Waco, fueled in part by the railroad.

The route of the new path was once part of an 8-mile segment of track connecting Waco and Ross, abandoned in April 1929, according to wacohistory.org . By 1988, the Union Pacific Railroad had absorbed the MKT system. At the Brazos River railroad bridge, a portion of the former MKT rail network remains in service under Union Pacific operation.

The city of Waco bought the right of way the new path uses in 2013 so it could install a waterline. City officials at the time also publicly discussed the land's potential for use as a pedestrian and bicycle path.

The city-owned right of way extends past Gholson Road to Industrial Boulevard in Bellmead, and extending the paved path along the full length is in the city's long-term plans, along with an extension at the other end to Elm Avenue.

Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter.