Kokomo Tribune; Kokomo, Indiana

July 10, 2008

Nickel Plate bridge dedication is Saturday

Public invited to the unveiling

By MIKE FLETCHER

Gov. Mitch Daniels will be in Bunker Hill Saturday for the dedication of the Pipe Creek bridge on the Nickel Plate Trail.

Daniels, along with other dignitaries, is expected to attend the unveiling of the bridge constructed by Friends of the Nickel Plate Trail organization. The project was funded through grants and local donations.

Charlie Skoog, a member of the trail organization, said there will be two dedications — at 11 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. Daniels will be present at the latter event.

Both dedications will be at held at the bridge, located near 3rd Street about 7 miles north of where Ind. 218 intersects Bunker Hill.

The public will be invited to run, walk or bike across the bridge. There also will be a ribbon cutting and refreshments.

At 11 a.m., the Break-Away Bicycle Club, the Wheel People Bicycle Club and the Circus City Bicycle Club, along with the Greenways Foundation, will dedicate the bridge built by volunteers.

Daniels will present the group with a $900,000 grant. The funds will go toward the development of the trail as part of the Hoosiers on the Move state trail initiative.

The department awarded funding for 28 projects, for a total of 104 miles of new trails and land bought for an anticipated 26 miles of future trail development.

The Nickel Plate Trail, when complete, will run from Rochester in Fulton County to Cassville in Howard County.

Currently the state trail system covers about 400 miles.

For more information, call (765) 457-2607 or e-mail runckrr@aol.com.