Boonville to New Franklin

Boonville to New Franklin. Points of Interest. The 3.6 miles of trail from Boonville to New Franklin cross the Missouri River into the river floodplain. Trail users pass farm fields, the 1816 townsite of Franklin and the once-important Franklin junction. The trail briefly leaves the railroad corridor after the Boonville depot. Turn right onto Morgan Street for one block, then left onto the trail just beyond the casino entrance. , Katy Trail users cross the Missouri River on a bicycle lane on the highway bridge. The railroad crossed a short distance upstream. The first Katy bridge in 1874 was the fifth bridge across the Missouri. The current bridge, a 1932 replacement, was the longest lift-span in the United States when constructed. No longer needed, it is scheduled for removal. , At the end of the highway bridge, turn left for three-tenths of a mile, crossing Highway 87 to Kingsbury Siding (milepost 190.8). Here are monuments to the Santa Fe Trail, which began at Franklin, and to the first newspaper west of St. Louis. , Sulphur Creek bridge offers visitors their first view of the old Franklin depot. The area at milepost 189.1 reveals ruins of the turntable and powerhouse, and once served as a major Katy junction and maintenance center. The New Franklin trail head is about a mile due east. , (photo captions:), Milepost 189.1 - The ruins of the Franklin Junction turntable are visible from the trail., Milepost 189.1 - This old depot served Franklin junction., Milepost 191.5 - Trail users detour around the spectacular 408-foot-long Katy lift-span bridge.