The Scandia City Council voted unanimously this week to extend the popular Gateway State Trail into downtown Scandia.
The new two-mile trail will connect the city with William O’Brien State Park in Marine on St. Croix. But it could do a lot more than that for Scandia, the mayor says.
Scandia Mayor Steve Kronmiller (John Autey / Pioneer Press)
“This will, ultimately, have a very large impact on the community,” said Mayor Steve Kronmiller. “Scandia has looked at itself for a long time to be a tourist and recreational destination, and completing this trail will allow us to take a step in the right direction to achieving that objective.”
The council voted Tuesday to award the first phase of the two-part project to Chisago City-based Peterson Cos., which submitted the lowest bid of $3.6 million.
That one-mile section of trail will be built next year. It will start at a trailhead on city-owned land northwest of Meister’s Bar & Grill and run to a realigned Oakhill Road, where a tunnel will be built underneath the road.
Plans call for trail sections on both sides of Oakhill to accommodate bicycles, pedestrians and horseback riders. The tunnel crossing is designed for pedestrians and bicyclists. Horseback riders will be directed to a dirt trail section on the south side of the road, so horses do not have to go through the tunnel; they will use an at-grade crossing farther northwest on Oakhill Road.
A map shows the Gateway Trail route between Scandia and William O’Brien State Park, including a tunnel under Oakhill Road. (Kathryn Kovalenko / Pioneer Press)
The second phase — the remaining mile of trail from the tunnel at Oakhill to the north side of William O’Brien State Park — is currently being designed. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officials are seeking funding to build that section, which is expected to be completed in 2028 or 2029.
Funding sources
The city got a $2.68 million grant from the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources to extend the trail from Scandia to the Oakhill Road tunnel. The money also will cover a realignment of 2,000 feet of Oakhill Road and the raising of the road by 6 feet to accommodate the tunnel, said City Administrator Kyle Morell.
Washington County and the DNR also are contributing to the project.
The county is providing $800,000 for work related to the tunnel and the realignment of Oakhill. While horses will cross the road without a tunnel, county officials will not allow the bike and pedestrian trail to cross Oakhill, also known as Washington County Road 52, at grade. To support a grade separation, county officials agreed to contribute financially toward a tunnel option, County Engineer Wayne Sandberg said.
The DNR is contributing $650,000 to the first phase of the project.
Growing in segments
The Gateway Trail is one of the state’s most heavily used trails, attracting an estimated 314,000 users in 2024. It currently runs 19 miles from St. Paul to Pine Point Park in Stillwater Township.
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Eventually, the trail will connect from Pine Point Park to William O’Brien State Park, but that could take years, officials said.
The trail is being built in segments as money and land become available, said Kent Skaar, the senior development project manager for the DNR’s parks and trails division.
All long trails in the state are built in phases, and it makes sense to do the Scandia segment first, Skaar said.
“It is really a circumstance of funding and the interest of local communities,” he said. “When it comes to state trails, we are building incrementally when funding and the corridor is available.”
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