By Emma J. Murphy
JEFFERSON CITY — Discussion at a House Budget Commitee meeting in late April signaled another year of delay for the proposed Rock Island Trail.
“We’re still hoping to hear conversations about it. But at this point we don’t see a clear path forward,” said Dan Haug, budget director from the Office of Administration for Budget and Planning.
“We just didn’t feel comfortable putting it in this budget.”
The Rock Island Trail is proposed to be 144 miles long, stretching across Missouri from Kansas City to the Ozarks, using a former railbed obtained by the state in 2021.
Last year, Gov. Mike Parson included $77 million in the budget for fiscal year 2023 to begin construction on over 70 miles of the trail, from Eugene to Beaufort.