DNR Director says bridge never belonged to Missouri.
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DNR Director says bridge never belonged to Missouri.

Date: October 24, 2007
By: Ben DeMeyer
State Capitol Bureau

Intro: The Attorney General's office decided to appeal a ruling taking a Katy Trail bridge out of the state's control, but the DNR Director says the state never had control to begin with.

Benjamin DeMeyer (DEE-my-er) has more.

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OutCue: SOC

Doyle Childers, the director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, says the bridge belongs exclusively to Union Pacific, the rail company that originally owned a large portion of the Katy Trail's land. 

The bridge spans the Missouri river at the point where the Katy trail crosses, but Childers says the bridge itself is not part of the Katy Trail State Park.

 
Actuality:  CHILDER1.WAV
Run Time: 00:11
Description: It has never been owned by the state, and it has never been a part of the Katy Trail. Never has been, and never will be unless, you know, we go in and buy the bridge or something.

Childers says the state's contract with Union Pacific gives the state the rights to the land and water beneath the bridge, but not the bridge itself.

From the state capitol, this is Benjamin DeMeyer.

Intro: After the Appeals Court's ruling to hand control of a Katy Trail bridge over to it original owner, Union Pacific, the company says they have no desire to pursue ownership of the rest of the Katy Trail.

Benjamin DeMeyer (DEE-my-er) has more.

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OutCue: SOC

When Union Pacific agreed to give the state old railroad land to construct the Katy Trail, it did so on the condition that the land remain serviceable by rail.

Now that the company plans to remove a vital bridge, they could use this condition to make a case to regain control of the entire Katy Trail.

But Mark Davis, a Union Pacific spokesman, says the company will take no steps in that direction.

Actuality:  DAVIS1.WAV
Run Time: 00:08
Description: We've always focused on the bridge itself, not needing any of the other land that's on the Katy Trail.

Davis says Union Pacific's primary reason for moving the bridge is to comply with a Coast Guard request.

From the state capitol, this is Benjamin DeMeyer.