MEMO TO ALL HIGHLANDS TRAIL FOUNDATION MEMBERS:
GOOD NEWS!
Present to receive the TEP grant certificate were Randolph and Pocahontas County legislators, RCDA representatives and Highlands Trail Foundation officers. From left, Assemblyman Bill Hartman, 37th District; HTF Vice President Karen Carper; Assemblyman Mike Ross, 37th District; HTF President Gordon Blackley; Senator Walt Helmick, 15th District; RCDA President James Schoonover; Governor Joe Manchin III; RCDA Board Member Ed Griesel; Senator Clark Barnes, 15th District.
The InterMountain – August 12, 2009
By CARRA HIGGINS, Staff Writer
POSTED: August 12, 2009
After more than 10 years of work, a link between the amenities of the Elkins Railroad Depot and Railyard and Allegheny Highlands Trail at Highland Park is finally becoming reality. With help from a $716,800 grant the trail will bring bikers and walkers to the Veteran's Memorial at the intersection of Harrison and Railroad avenues.
On Tuesday, Gov. Joe Manchin, the Federal Highway Administration and the West Virginia Division of Highways announced the award for the "Elkins Rail-Trail Connector" to the Randolph County Development Authority, which has partnered with the Highland Trails Foundation for the project.
Before work on the connecting route begins, a Notice to Proceed must be issued. There is currently no expected start date because final engineering plans are still being completed.
"Everyone is anxious to see the project get under way," RCDA Executive Director Jennifer Giovannitti said in a prepared statement.
The engineering efforts of the WVDOH, will create a safe route that people "can use with confidence," Giovannitti said, adding, the organizations are "grateful" to the WVDOH for its partnership on the project.
"After over a decade of cooperative effort committed to this project, the RCDA and the Highlands Trail Foundation have built a fine friendship so we can't wait to celebrate," Giovannitti commented.
A separate RCDA project is planned to take the trail to its final depot destination. The RCDA is working toward including a pedestrian trail component of the new roadway to be installed through the Elkins Railyard. The project will take the form of a sidewalk designed to funnel people safely to the depot area.
HTF began working in 1995 to develop the rail-trail going north from Elkins to Thomas on the former Western Maryland Railway line. The RCDA partnered with HTF on the project that same year. Former HTF President Karen Carper said the RCDA was "quick to recognize the value of a rail-trail to the community." The trail project was later adopted by the WVDOH, which used Corridor H funds to build the trail from Highland Park to Hendricks.
Current HTF President Gordon Blackley and the board of directors made completion of the southern trail into the Elkins Depot a priority in 2008. Blackley gathered endorsing letters from the city of Elkins, the Randolph County Commission, RCDA, the Elkins Promotional Committee, the Elkins-Randolph County Chamber of Commerce and the Randolph County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
"This demonstration of community interest helped us get the attention we needed on the state level," Blackley said.
The letters of support were forwarded to West Virginia Transportation Secretary Paul Mattox, who Blackley says got the project back on track.
"We are very grateful for his (Mattox) support," Blackley said.
Blackley added that there were others who helped move project forward, particularly Delegate Bill Hartman, D-37th District, and Randolph County Commissioner Julia Elbon.
The West Virginia Transportation Enhancement grant program is a federal aid program, which is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration and provides annual funding to West Virginia communities for non-traditional projects. Grants from the program are awarded to such projects as improving safety for pedestrians and bicyclists through the construction of sidewalks and trails, preserving viewsheds for highways, preserving historic resources and stimulating tourism development.
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