Pumpkinvine Home > Trail grants

 Trail receives grants for $1.82 million in 2007

The Pumpkinvine Nature Trail has received funding for three phases of the project from the Indiana Department of Transportation. The funds, which come from transportation enhancement funds of the Federal Highway program, include:

• $517,520 - a supplemental grant for phase 4, LaGrange County line to Shipshewana Town Center, awarded to the town of Shipshewana.
• $300,000 - a supplemental grant for phase 3, Middlebury to the LaGrange County line, awarded to Elkhart County Parks and Recreation.
• $999,489 - a grant for phase 6, the 1.2-mile section from Wayne Street in Middlebury south to US 20, awarded to the town of Middlebury.

Phases 3 and 4 received funding in 2004 and 2005, respectively, but needed additional grants because the cost of engineering was more than anticipated.

“Our biggest surprise was the amount of upfront money needed for consultants, acquisition and inspection of construction,” said Larry Neff, superintendent of Elkhart County Park and Recreation Department, “Added to these costs was the inflation of asphalt prices. All of these issues made additional money necessary to continue trail construction.

Norm Kauffman, director of special projects for the town of Shipshewana, agreed. “The supplemental grant was needed to help us reach our destination of the Town Center,” he said. “Without the additional grant we may have been only able to reach CR 850. When we applied for the original grants in 2004, the cost of construction was much less: the rise in oil prices has skyrocketed since, making asphalt and construction in general much higher.”

The grant to the town of Middlebury extends the completed 0.65-mile section of the trail (phase 2) south to US 20. “This portion of the trail is critical to the Trails of Middlebury master plan, which is to develop a series of interconnecting trails between our schools, parks and downtown retail area with most of our communities, parks and churches,” said John McKee, chair of the Middlebury Park Board.” “The trail system will benefit both residents and visitors with a safe place to walk, bike and jog and will assist with the long term economic development of Middlebury and the surrounding area.”

A unique feature of this section is the possibility of tunneling under US 20.

Elkhart County Park and Recreation Dept. will also use some of the supplemental grant money to build a connector trail between the Dairy Queen on SR 13 and the end of the Middlebury Trail at York St. “When the grant was written we ended the trail at SR 13 thinking a widened sidewalk would be the connector to York St,” Neff said. “Now we realize that there is not enough right-of-way on the east side of SR 13 for the trail. We will need a pedestrian activated light at the DairyQueen to cross to the west side and proceed with an asphalt 10-foot trail to York St.

The Friends of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail, Inc., provides the local match for the federal enhancement funds through the donation fo the Pumpkinvine corridor.

“We owe the friends of the Pumpkinvine our deepest gratitude for making the trail available for the match,” Kauffman said. “Otherwise our town would not have had the 20 percent local match to even accept the grant! It has been a great team effort.”

Neff also thanked the Friends for their assistance. “We and the citizens of Elkhart County are greatly indebted to the continued efforts of the Friends of the Pumpkinvine to manage and defend the trail corridor knowing full well that it has been a team effort from many dedicated individuals.”

Jim Smith, Friends’ executive director, wrote the grant applications. “I did not have the time or the skill to do it,” Kauffman said. “His skill and attention to detail is a wonderful gift to us all.”

A fourth grant application for phase 5A from CR 28 to CR 33 northeast of Goshen was not funded, but Indiana Department of Transportation encouraged Elkhart County Parks and Recreation to apply for it in 2008.