The Veterans Memorial Greenway (formerly Rich Valley Greenway) is a proposed regional trail and open space corridor that will provide a link between Lebanon Hills Regional Park and the Mississippi River in central Dakota County. The greenway will provide recreation for residents of Eagan and Inver Grove Heights and serve as a destination trail for the larger surrounding area.
The 5-mile corridor stretches east and west within the cities of Eagan and Inver Grove Heights. The proposed corridor's surrounding land use includes primarily single-family residential neighborhoods and rural, undeveloped open space.
The finished greenway segment will consist of a 10-foot wide paved trail. Other amenities will include:
- Grade separated crossings of Highway 3, County Road 71 and Highway 52
- Trailhead facilities and parking
- Interpretive Memorial Nodes
- Connections to local trails and sidewalks
- Wayfinding and interpretive signage
- Landscaping
- Other features consistent with Dakota County Greenway Standards
Final design, environmental assessment, survey and engineering work and the public engagement process will extend through summer 2026. The planned project will construct the 5-mile corridor in three phases. Construction of the first phase is tentatively scheduled to begin fall/winter of 2023. More updates will be posted here as they become available.
Community engagement
Open house - June 29, 2022
An open house was held June 29, 2022 at the Veterans Community Center in Inver Grove Heights to review the draft plan and share ideas.
Interpretive Memorial Plan - Draft
Veterans Memorial Greenway Overview
Open house - February 2022
Project Overview
County Connections Map
Project Phases
Memorial Sites
The February 2022 open house presented initial designs and concepts for 10 veteran memorials. The project phasing and schedule have been modified since this time and can be viewed on the Veterans Memorial Greenway project site.
Provide input
Sign up for project emails and provide feedback
For assistance or more information
More information is available in the Veterans Memorial Greenway trail planning website.
Stay up to date throughout the process by visiting this webpage. You can also contact the county's project manager if you have questions:
Tony Wotzka, Project Manager
952-891-7966
tony.wotzka@co. dakota.mn.us