Conversion of right-of-way to a trail was made possible by the National Trails System Act of 1968 . In 1982 , the city of Columbia opened the MKT Trail on an abandoned spur of the Katy as one of the first rails-to-trails pilot projects in the United States . On October 4 , 1986 , floodwater from the Missouri River severely damaged the track along the Missouri – Kansas – Texas Railroad 's route from Sedalia to Machens , Missouri . The route had been washed out and repaired many times , but this time , railroad officials decided not to return the tracks to service . Trains were re-routed , and the right-of-way was to be abandoned . The Missouri Department of Natural Resources purchased the right-of-way with a donation from Edward D. " Ted " Jones and Pat Jones of Williamsburg and St. Louis . In 1990 , the first segment of the trail officially opened in Rocheport . In 1991 , the Union Pacific Railroad donated of right-of-way from Sedalia to Clinton . The trail was initially planned for completion in 1994 . However , the Great Flood of 1993 damaged of the original of the trail . The completed trail from St. Charles to Sedalia was finally opened in 1996 ; the section from Sedalia to Clinton opened in 1999
Great Flood of 1993
Great Flood of 1993
Katy Trail State Park