The city of Estherville continues to work towards a nearly $3 million project that is designed to improve the area along the West Fork Des Moines River in Emmet County, Iowa.
Estherville City Administrator Penny Clayton on Thursday told Siouxland Public Media News the River Recreation Enhancement Project will be beneficial, once city officials get financing finalized and finish it by the end of 2027.
Some facets of the Estherville project include a much higher pedestrian bridge over the river, adding a recreational vehicle campground, a new river access near a former golf course and an extension of the current trail.
The latest step was that the Estherville City Council members on Monday approved a $1.1 million bid for some of the pieces, by Beck Excavating of Spirit Lake.
At one point the project was projected to cost nearly $4 million, but now that has been changed to $2.7 million. Clayton said about $400,000 remains to be raised to complete the campground portion of the project.
Last year, the city Estherville was not invited to submit a full application for a $950,000 Destination Iowa grant. The project did receive an Iowa Transportation Commission $650,000 in the recreational trails category, and with previous grants and fundraising sit at more than $2 million accumulated.
