The Culvert on County Road 40 Is the First Real Piece of New London's Trail to Sibley

"I think we're there. We can take it and run with it now."

Colin Wright, regional parks and trails supervisor with the Minnesota DNR in Spicer, said that in May. He was talking to the West Central Tribune after the Legislature approved the last of the money for a paved trail between New London and Sibley State Park. Five months later, "run with it" looks like a crew and some heavy equipment at a culvert under County Road 40, just west of town.

Every piece of this trail has been built only after the money for it arrived, and the culvert is the one piece with money, a contractor, and a work window all lined up in 2026. The paved trail comes later. To understand the order, you have to know how the project was paid for.

What the Crews on County Road 40 Are Building

The Lakes Area Review reported on October 16 that crews had started widening the culvert under County Road 40 west of New London. This is where the trail will cross the Middle Fork of the Crow River. The project also includes a small parking area at the crossing for people putting in or taking out on the river.

Kandiyohi County's road construction page lists R and E Enterprises of Mankato, Inc. as the contractor for the culvert extension. The county estimated a September 2026 start and an October 2026 finish, so the river-crossing work is scheduled to wrap up within days of this post. The county awarded that contract in the spring, separately from the rest of the trail.

The county is doing this work by arrangement with the state. The Lakes Area Review reports that the DNR asked Kandiyohi County several years ago whether it would build the extension if state money ever came through. The county also spent several years asking for state funds for a trail on the south side of County Road 40.

Why the River Crossing Came First

The trail was funded in installments, and each installment paid for the next piece.

The 2023 money was tied to the river crossing, so the river crossing is what's being built now. According to the Lakes Area Review's May coverage, the project still fell short of its estimated cost of about $6.6 million until this spring's bill closed the gap. New London Mayor John Dahl shared the news with the city council at its May 20 meeting.

The 2026 bill was not written just for New London. The West Central Tribune reported it as a $4,943,000 appropriation shared by three trail projects: the Glacial Lakes State Trail extension, the Minnesota River State Trail Bridge, and the Minnesota Valley State Trail. The bill does not say how to divide the money, but Wright said the Glacial Lakes extension gets priority. The DNR's draft work plan for the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources gives more detail. It assigns $3.743 million in Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund money to the New London–Sibley segment and adds $3 million in 2023 bond funds and $357,000 in Parks and Trails Legacy funds, for about $7.1 million in total. That is higher than the $6.6 million local estimate. Cost estimates for a project like this usually move as design work finishes.

The Four Miles, Town to Park

When the trail is finished, the route will follow this order, starting at the Glacial Lakes State Trail in New London:

1. West along the south side of Kandiyohi County Road 40.
2. Through the New London-Spicer school property.
3. Over the Middle Fork of the Crow River at the culvert being widened now, next to the new river-access parking area.
4. Around the wetland complex east of U.S. 71, which takes the trail away from the county road for the only time. This stretch includes a boardwalk.
5. Into the tunnel under U.S. 71, about three miles east of New London, and onto Sibley's existing trail system.

The underpass at the far end was built years ago. The Lakes Area Review called it "a piece of infrastructure that's been waiting for the rest of the trail to catch up with it." The culvert going in now is the second fixed point. The paved trail between the two still has to be built.

The DNR's draft plan calls for a 10-foot paved surface with 2-foot shoulders over 4.2 miles. The length has changed as plans firmed up. Local stories round it to four miles, and a West Central Tribune story from December 2025 said about 4.5. The trail will tie Sibley State Park, which the Lakes Area Review says gets about 250,000 visitors a year, into the statewide network of bike trails.

When the Pavement Is Expected

Wright told the West Central Tribune that construction would probably happen in 2027. Some design work was still unfinished, and a bid package still had to be put together and awarded. The DNR draft work plan, submitted in December 2025, lists the general contractor as not yet chosen and sets these targets:

• Construction contract awarded by August 31, 2026
• Construction finished by December 31, 2028
• Trail open to the public by June 30, 2029

These are planning targets from a draft document, not a promised opening date, and no full-trail contractor has been announced. Even so, the gap between "construction in 2027" and "open by mid-2029" helps set expectations. Paving may start next year, but the work plan leaves room for it to run through two more construction seasons. People in New London will probably see construction on this corridor before they get to ride it.

Until then, the gap remains. The Lakes Area Review describes riders and hikers on the Glacial Lakes State Trail through New London reaching a dead end, with Sibley four miles away and no safe way to get there on foot or by bike without riding the Highway 71 shoulder.

This Winter, Each Trail Is Its Own Trip

For at least one more winter, the trail and the park are two separate outings. Each has a lot going on from November through March.

The Glacial Lakes State Trail. The trail is paved for 22 miles through Willmar, Spicer, New London, and Hawick to the Kandiyohi-Stearns county line. In winter it's open to cross-country skiing and snowmobiling. The DNR says the trail is groomed for snowmobiles within Kandiyohi County and connects to the county's grant-in-aid snowmobile trail system. The New London access is one mile northeast of Main Street at County Road 31 and River View Lane.

Sibley State Park. The park is open daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and its naturalist programs run year-round. The park's winter map shows the Mount Tom Hiking Club Trail as a strenuous 3.3-mile loop with nearly 200 feet of climbing and descent up to the park's overlooks. For something easier, there's the 0.7-mile Pondview loop and the 2-mile Parker-Fremberg loop. Snowshoes can be rented in winter, and the trail center is open for warming up after skiing or sledding. Sibley is on the DNR's list of parks with groomed classic and skate ski trails, but grooming depends on snow and weather, so check conditions before you go. The visitor center's new interactive exhibits opened in December 2025. The center is generally open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, depending on staffing. The DNR suggests calling 320-347-7810 to confirm hours.

The park's November program calendar is a good way to get through the time before snow:

November 7 is a full day in town too. Coco Bloom, Leah Bauman's natural skincare brand, holds the grand opening of its first storefront that day in the former Ali J's space on Main Street, according to the Lakes Area Review. That evening at 7 p.m., the CatPAC Series presents "Platinum Duets" with Phil Thompson and Tristana Ward at the New London-Spicer High School Performing Arts Center. Individual tickets are $30.

The county's schedule has the County Road 40 culvert finished in October, which leaves the U.S. 71 tunnel and the Middle Fork crossing as the two built pieces of the route heading into winter.

For lake-country homeowners, how close a home is to a trail like this often matters more over time than it seems on the day you buy. If you'd like to know how the County Road 40 corridor and the area around Sibley fit into a future purchase or sale near New London, Devon White can walk the area with you. Schedule a Private Tour, and we'll plan it around what's actually on the ground this season.