BUFFALO, IOWA (August 19, 2019) — The official ribbon cutting ceremony for the Mississippi River Trail (MRT) project in Buffalo, Iowa will be at 10AM on Saturday, August 24, 2019, on Elm Street near the intersection with Iowa 22 in Buffalo.
The MRT project in Buffalo has been completed and includes the design and construction of almost 8 miles of trail. The project is actually part of two national trail systems, the MRT, a north/south trail along the entire Mississippi River Valley, and the American Discovery Trail (ADT), an east/west trail from the Atlantic to Pacific Oceans.
Many Buffalo citizens worked tirelessly to make this project a reality including the Mayor; City Council; City Staff; the Park Board; Olin Meador (prior City Council Member); and Jim Matthys (prior president of Buffalo Bank).
A $1 million-dollar federal earmark from SAFETEA-LU Transportation Act funding was received for the MRT in Muscatine and Scott Counties through federal legislative support. The earmark request was prepared by River Action Inc. In 2006 and 2007, the Cities of Buffalo, Davenport, and Muscatine, the Iowa DOT, the Muscatine and Scott County Conservation Departments, and the Quad City and Melon City Bicycle Clubs determined the best use of the funding in meetings coordinated by the Bi-State Regional Commission.
The group decided that half of the earmark would be used to extend the MRT from its terminus in Muscatine near Weed Park to Wild Cat Den Road and IA 22 via New Era Road. The remaining dollars were to be spent to advance the gap between Wild Cat Den Road and Concord Street in Davenport via IA 22. These meetings resulted in the concept for the Buffalo project.
The non-federal matching dollars for the project included City funding gathered through donations from Buffalo Bank and fundraisers. In addition, the Bi-State Regional Commission prepared a grant application for Iowa State Recreation Trail funding and worked with State Representative Mark Lofgren (now State Senator) and the Iowa Department of Transportation. Representatives Jim Lykam (now Senator) and Cindy Winkler also supported the project through its development. The funding for the project included:
Federal Earmark $480,559
Iowa State Recreation Trail $108,500
City of Buffalo $11,889
Total $601,949
The engineering firm for the project was Stanley Consultants and the general contractor was Valley Construction.
The project has been included in various plans in the communities and the Bi-State Region including the Region 9 Long Range Transportation Plan, the Quad City Area Long Range Transportation Plan, the Quad Cities Illinois- Iowa Metropolitan Greenway Plan, and the Muscatine County Recreation Trail Plan.
Increased tourism resulting from further trail-expansion will draw additional tourist-revenue and support economic development in the area. With this project, the City is supporting regional economic goals established in the Bi-State Region Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, which calls for improving quality-of-life opportunities, including expansion of the regional trail systems.
