A key link to the Minnesota Valley State Trail is falling into place, with the Bloomington City Council moving the Hyland Trail project forward for construction in 2014.
The 1 1/2-mile paved biking and walking trail will run south from Hyland Lake Park Reserve on Bush Lake Road, jog west on W. 106th St. and head south past the Dred Scott Playfields and along Bloomington Ferry Road, ending in a parking lot that will be a trail head for the river trail.
The first 80-mile segment of the river trail was authorized in 1969, but the only part that has been completed is a 25-mile segment between Shakopee and Belle Plaine. Eventually the trail is supposed to reach Fort Snelling.
If the dreams of trail supporters are fulfilled, the trail would nearly reach the South Dakota border.
The Hyland Trail will be 10 to 15 feet wide, have areas for bikers and pedestrians and will cost almost $1.4 million. Federal moneys and some local funds will pay for trail construction, signal improvements and parking lot improvements.
