WINONA, Minn. – The City Council voted to seek $5 million from the state to extend the riverfront walking and bicycling trail another five blocks downriver. The extension would be Laird Street to St. Charles Street. There are complex engineering issues, like a bridge of some sort at the Winona Marina. A new state grant would not include land acquisition, which is another hurdle. Easements are needed from:
> Bay State Milling, which already has signed on.
> Xcel Energy.
>Winona Marina.
> RTP.
> Michael’s Lighting.
> U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services.
The new grant being sought by the City Council would augment a previous $2 million planning and engineering grant. In recent years the state Legislature has viewed such recreational trails favorably.
Riverfront route
The long-term vision for Riverfront Trail connects the Flyway Trail from Wisconsin at the Interstate Bridge and runs all the way to the Riverbend Technology Park on Winona’s Far East End. A few blocks already are in place through Levee Park. The plan is for Riverfront Trail trail part if a two-state network. The network would include the Flyway Trail, which crosses Mississippi River sloughs on the Old Wagon Bridge and connects with the Mississippi River Ttail, which, also is a work in progress would link Cochrane and Onalaska on a 46-mile route through the Trempealeau Wildlife Refuge and Perrott State Park.
Flyway Trail. After crossing the backwaters to Latsch island on the Old Wagon Bridge, the Flyway Trail ramps up to the Interstate Bridge and then ramps down to Winona.