By Sharon Honeycutt
WINAMAC — The Friends of the Panhandle Pathway would like to get some momentum going behind their 21-mile trail project that will ultimately connect Winamac to Kenneth, just west of Logansport.
The Indiana Department of Natural Resources allotted the Panhandle Pathway $150,000 in grant funds last November to begin the project. After determining the project was in line with its statewide trail initiative, the governor’s office recently awarded $900,000 in additional funds.
However, the DNR now seems to be tying their hands.
“We can’t lift a shovel until we get the CE report and appraisal approved,” explained Panhandle Pathway Treasurer Mike O’Connor.
The CE report O’Connor referred to is a categorical exclusion report completed as part of the original grant application. It contains information relevant to ecological, architectural and historical matters concerning the stretch of railroad right-of-way the Panhandle Pathway intends to purchase to build the trail.
According to O’Connor and Panhandle Secretary Tom Anspach, the hurdle they are having difficulty jumping pertains to the Tippecanoe Bridge. There is a question, they explained, as to whether or not the bridge is historically significant. That qualification will be made by the Historical Preservation Department, a division of the DNR. Neither O’Connor nor Anspach knew when that determination would be made.
“If it’s determined to be of historical significance, then there will have to be certain design features in our re-decking and railing,” O’Connor stated. “We put the grant proposal together based on the best information we had at the time and what we wanted to do with the bridge.”
“We aren’t sure how all of that fits together,” added Anspach.
What the group does seem certain of is its desire to get the trail done.
It already had its initial grant application in place when, according to Panhandle President John Bawcum, “The state came along and the governor said, ‘We want to build trails in Indiana.’” As a result, the state awarded an additional $900,000 to the group to help complete the entire project.
Bawcum said the state would like to see the project “substantially completed” by the fall and Anspach and O’Connor both stated that time is of the essence. The group hopes to begin some of the physical work yet this summer.
In addition to approving the CE reports, the state must also approve the appraisal of the first tract of land between Winamac and Star City.
The Panhandle Pathway intends to purchase 60 acres for the first five miles at a bargain price of $25,000 from the Indiana Trails Fund, Inc. The land has been appraised at more than $300,000 and its purchase will fulfill a matching clause in the grant with the equity in the land.
O’Connor said the state hopes to eventually interconnect parks throughout the state with hiking and biking trails.
“We’re strategically located,” he commented, as the Panhandle’s portion of the state’s trails would connect central and northern Indiana.
Want to help?
The Friends of the Panhandle Pathway welcome any and all volunteers. Anyone interested in donating his or her time or money to the project should contact either Tom Anspach at (574) 946-4267 or Ron Simshauser at (574) 946-7189.
