Chadwick Flyer Trail

Click HERE to see a map.

The Chadwick Flyer Trail offers a vital active transportation corridor between the City of Ozark and the City of Springfield. It is a part of the growing regional trail system. Current efforts are focused on the ~12 miles between Sunshine Street in Springfield and the Ozark Community Center in Ozark. 

Springfield is our state's third largest metro, and this project highlights our collaborative spirit and allows us to come together around not only a part of our history but also our future.  It will allow us to celebrate and develop our unique identity of place and foster an experience economy that supports recreation, culture, and tourism. Best of all, it will connect us to our beautiful outdoors. 

The above photo is near Olde World Estates on 22nd Street in Ozark, MO.  Approximately 1.4 miles of trail have been completed in three segments in the City of Ozark. 1.8 miles of trail have been completed in Greene County by the Springfield Power Plant.

Chadwick Flyer Trail Open Houses & Presentations

• Community-at-Large Open House:  November 15th, 2022, at the Lake Springfield Boat House from 4:00-6:00 pm.
• Community Presentation:  Chasing the Chadwick Line by Tim Ritter on February 23rd, 2023, at The Barley House at Moon Town Crossing.  This presentation is part of the OG Annual Meeting, all are welcome to attend from 5:00-7:00 pm. 
• Community-at-large Open House:  April 27th, 2023, at the Ozark Community Center from 4:00-6:00 pm.
• Adjacent Landowners' Open House:  August 15th, 2023, for adjacent landowners between Kissick Avenue and Sunshine Street. A letter was mailed to approximately 150 adjacent landowners.
• Community-at-Large Open House:  February 20th, 2024, at the Missouri Jobs Center in Springfield, MO, from 4:30-6:30 pm. 

Trail Segment Status Updates from North to South

3.2 Miles of Constructed Trail     ~     3.2 Miles of Trail In Progress     ~     5.6 Miles of Unfunded Trail

• BNSF (Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railroad) Rail-line from Downtown Springfield to Sunshine Street:  Active rail line; no trail development is underway as long as this is an in-use, active rail line.
• BNSF Rail-line from Sunshine Street to Kissick Avenue:  Active rail line, unused.  The city of Springfield and BNSF are in negotiations for City of Springfield to acquire this corridor for future trail use; the City of Springfield has completed the title search and initial survey work; project partners studied this segment to determine how this trail, the Lake Springfield Plan, James River Greenway trail, and the Galloway Creek Greenway trail may integrate; and Ozark Greenways has been awarded $3 million to go towards trail planning and development in this area. Click HERE to see the Chadwick Flyer Trail Study:  Kissick Avenue to Sunshine Street.
• PHASE 3 BUILT:  1.8 miles of trail from Kissick Avenue south into Christian County:  Inactive rail line owned by City Utilities. OTO was the project manager. This segment was funded via federal funds administered by OTO and locally matched by Ozark Greenways. Project construction started on Monday, June 26, 2023, and concluded in November. 
• The next parcel is owned by BNSF:  OG and project partners communicate with BNSF.
• Interim route planned to utilize Westwind Drive (three privately owned parcels border the abandoned rail corridor; contacted via letter.)
• The next parcel is owned by BNSF:  OG and project partners communicate with BNSF.
• BUILT:  the segment in front of Sonrise Baptist Church was built through a public-private partnership between Sonrise Baptist Church and the City of Ozark.
• BUILT:  Highway CC Intersection Improvements; this provides for an at-grade crossing for folks walking and biking; federally funded via OTO and locally matched by the City of Ozark.
• The next parcel is privately owned; and has been contacted by the City of Ozark.
• BUILT:  the segment along Olde World Development was built through a public-private partnership between the Developer and the City of Ozark.
• PHASE II UNDER DESIGN 2023:  the segment on Tracker Marine Property is under design; both the design and construction costs are federally funded via OTO and locally matched by the City of Ozark. Tracker Marine provided the recreational trail easement in partnership with the City of Ozark. The estimated construction start date is Summer 2024. 
• PHASE V FUNDED 2023:  The OTO Board of Directors approved funding for the Chadwick Flyer Phase V project on July 20, 2023. This trail segment is between Phase II and Phase IV. The total project budget is $723,500, and the estimated construction completion date is September 2025.
• COMPLETED HWY 65 Trail Crossing Study:  this project was federally funded via OTO and locally matched by the City of Ozark.
• PHASE IV UNDER DESIGN & FUNDED 2023:  the Chadwick Flyer Trail Bridge over Highway 65. The estimated construction completion is May 2025.
• PHASE 1 BUILT:  the segment from Clay Street to the Ozark Community Center was built via federal funds matched by the City of Ozark; this project was coupled with the Jackson Street underpasses and connector trail along Jackson Street via federal funds matched by the City of Ozark and Ozark Public Schools.

Project updates will be posted here as they develop.  The project timeline is very fluid, and the remaining projected costs are approximately $20M. 

Regional Trail Plan

This is a regional trail identified in the Ozarks Transportation Organization's Regional Trail Study.  This trail alignment is also a part of the adopted Springfield-Greene County Parks & Recreation Master Plan and was highlighted in the adopted Forward Springfield Comprehensive Plan. The planned trail alignment stretches from Downtown Springfield to the Ozark Community Center in Ozark.  Current efforts are focusing on the planned trail between Sunshine Street In Springfield to the Ozark Community Center. The existing BNSF rail line from Downtown Springfield to Kissick Avenue is still listed as an "active" rail line. The City of Springfield, along with partners, is working with BNSF to acquire the segment of rail line (the purple line on the above map) between Sunshine Avenue and Kissick Avenue as BNSF no longer has any use for this segment. Current planning efforts in Greene County are studying how the Chadwick Flyer Trail, Lake Springfield Plan, James River Greenway Trail, and Galloway Creek Greenway trails will connect and integrate.  The rail line from the county line to Ozark was abandoned, and partners are working together on the planned trail alignment utilizing this old railroad route as inspiration. 

How to Donate

The Chadwick Flyer & James River Greenway Trail Fund at Community Foundation of the Ozarks has been established with a $50,000 gift from an anonymous donor.  Click here to donate. We are raising funds for these two trail corridors because of their intersection points and geographic area.  Many people consider these trails to be a part of the same trail; however, they are technically two different trails within our region's trail system.

Chadwick Flyer Trail Donor Wall - Under Construction!

Our greenway trails are an endowment to the community, provided by our members and contributors like you. The trails will endure for generations. From all of us, and from all who will benefit in the future, thank you.

Above $1,000,000

• The City of Springfield ARPA Grant to Ozark Greenways
• MO Department of Economic Development Tourism Asset Development Grant to the City of Ozark
   

$300,000 to $999,999

• Bass Pro Shops & Cabela's Outdoor Funds

$100,000 to $299,000


$50,000 to $99,999
Anonymous Private Donation 

$25,000 to $49,999



$10,000 to $24,999
Anonymous Private Foundation Donation

$5,000 to $9,999
Richard Ollis for City Council Campaign Fund

$1,000 to $4,999
Ozark Mill, LLC

$500 to $999
Jim Farasy

Up to $499
Peter Ramsey
James Luth
Jeramy Hawkins

History

The Chadwick Flyer spur of the old St. Louis San Francisco Frisco Railroad was originally established to transport timber and railroad ties produced in Christian County for railroad expansion to the west. The Chadwick Flyer made daily trips on the corridor, carrying both cargo and passengers between Springfield and Chadwick, Missouri. "Flyer" was used cheekily, as the average speed of the train was 10mph!  The majority of the Chadwick Branch was left abandoned after the Great Depression. The following excerpt is from Paul Johns and the April 2017 AllAboard employees newsletter, "For more than half a century, the train ran from Springfield to Chadwick each morning and then made the return trip that afternoon. With the Ozarkers usual sense of wryness, the train was known far and wide as the Chadwick Flyer because it took all day to make the 33-mile trip to Chadwick and then back to Springfield. Of course, in all fairness, that train made stops at several stations along the way, both coming and going...The mixed train daily that left at 9:00 every morning and came back at 4:00 in the evening with about all the weight the locomotive could handle. The train and its crew became an important part of the daily life of those residents who lived in the towns where it made its stops. The crew was always friendly and the conductor took care of children and elders traveling alone. The Chadwick Flyer was what in trainman terms was called a “preferred run.” The crewmen could have breakfast in Springfield, eat lunch at Chadwick, and then return to have dinner back home in Springfield. If a trainman got on that run, it was difficult to get him to leave voluntarily." 

Visioning Committee

The following community members are provided valuable input on trail planning and development efforts between 2018-2023:  John Dillon, former Ozark Planning and Zoning Board; Katherine Dowdy, Ozark Farmers Market; Scott Bratcher, City Utilities Board of Public Utilities; Megan Stack, Finley Farms; Bruce Galloway, Alderman Ward II, City of Ozark; Nathan Posten, former Alderman Ward 1, City of Ozark; Dr. Chris Bauman, Superintendent, Ozark School District; Chuck Branch, Chariman, Planning & Zoning Board, City of Ozark; Megan Buchbinder, Director of Marketing, Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau; Tim Rosenbury, Director of Quality of Place Initiatives, City of Springfield; Sara Fields, Executive Director, Ozarks Transportation Organization; Todd Wiesehan, Christian County; Frank Lorenz, Community Volunteer; Presiding Commissioner Ralph Phillips (Christian Co); Commissioner John Russell (Greene Co); Susie Turner, OG and Springfield-Greene County Park Boards; Patty Quesenberry, Ozark Volunteer; Jeremy Parsons, Public Works Director, City of Ozark; and Mary Kromrey, Executive Director, Ozark Greenways.  Additional support is provided by City of Ozark Staffers Amanda Callaway, John McCart, and Samantha Payne; and OTO Staffers  Andy Thomason and JD Stevenson. 

Now that the project has transitioned into primarily design and construction phases, the Visioning Committee meets on an as-needed basis. 

Parking & Trail Access

The Chadwick Flyer Trail is in the planning, development, and construction stages. 

Map

Download a printable version of this Ozark Greenways map

Gallery

View the Chadwick Flyer Trail Gallery