The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources now has the land it needs to extend the Blazing Star Trail to the east side of Hayward — but not all the funds.

That leaves two big questions: What’s going to happen with the money already set aside? What’s going to happen to secure the funds needed?

Joel Wagar, area supervisor for trails and waterways, said the very next step is conducting engineering plans for the planned 1,900-foot, pile-driven bridge across Albert Lea Lake. He said people will see crews doing soil borings and topographic surveys. He said taking the bridge beyond the conceptual stage will help determine costs.

He estimated that by late August, DNR officials could meet again with the Blazing Star Trail Joint Powers Board, other local officials and the general public about the choices available.

“We would like to spend the money in the way that makes the most sense and is economical,” Wagar said.

In 2005, the state Legislature authorized $1.47 million in the bonding bill, with the aim of getting the trail to Hayward. That funding had a five-year spending deadline, but during the 2010 legislative session, the Legislature extended the deadline to June 2014.

Some of that funding went to purchasing about 20 acres that will make up about three miles of the trail. Some will go toward the work on the trail itself. About four miles of trail has to be paved because one mile is in Myre-Big Island State Park.

But there isn’t enough to pay for the engineering, the trail and the bridge. At the August meeting, the DNR and the Joint Powers Board will need to decide whether to build the bridge, then the trail surface, or build some trail pavement, then do the bridge.

Wagar said one option is the DNR could pave from Hayward westward to give locals a recreational amenity while the rest of the funding is pending. He said it would be unwise to pave the mile in the state park before the bridge is built because of the heavy equipment that will traverse the utility dirt road the trail will take. The road, which follows a set of power lines, approaches the bridge location on the south side of the railroad.

He said the bridge will cross water and some wetland and will need to be sturdy enough to deal with icepacks. The engineering data will bring a clearer picture of how to proceed.

An additional $1.6 million was requested in the 2010 bonding bill, but in March then-Gov. Tim Pawlenty line-item vetoed it out when he brought the bill from $1 billion to $680 million.

Bonding bills usually are crafted every two years, though supplemental bonding does occur sometimes on the in-between years. Gov. Mark Dayton has indicated he would favor a 2011 bonding bill, but the Minnesota House and Senate have signaled opposition.

That would mean 2012 is probably the year to watch for funding. Construction could start in the spring of 2012 with the funding the DNR already has, but the project could then get the rest needed. It would have a lot of momentum.

“As a department, we are supportive of finishing this trail to Hayward,” Wagar said.