By Stephen Smoot
During the opening County Commission meeting of July, Commissioners heard about progress and challenges with expansion of Rail Trails in the county.
The Thrasher representative, Chad Miller, was present for the meeting. Commissioner Hinkle requested information first on a planned bridge over the West Fork. The representative replied that he reached out to a project manager with the West Virginia Department of Highways, but had heard back nothing of substance, saying “it typically goes to the engineering division after you give it to the DoH and it goes into a black hole.”
With “no time frame” of when it will move forward, Miller suggested “political pressure” could help. Pressure at the federal level could free up funding, but “sometimes your local politicians have a great influence on the DoH.” The representative also noted that DoH is “understaffed and I know they’ve got a lot on their plates.”
He added that “I haven’t gotten any response from the environmental people.”
Commissioner David Hinkle asked about the transfer process with Shinnston and projects needed to move the trail towards completion. Miller stated that “We’ve spent a lot of time out there from Shinnston to Spelter trying to develop the appropriate route for the Rail Trail.” One challenge comes from “a lot of abandoned mine workings in that area.”
Furthermore, while some areas have seen repairs undertaken by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, some of those have already fallen into disrepair. Miller then explained that “we’ve broken up the expansion into five different sections and we feel strongly that four of these five sections could be funded through the intergovernmental transfer of funds to the City of Shinnston.”
He added that the DEP has significant concerns about one section that could cause issues “if the mined areas would blow out.”
Also since “it takes years to do this” he said “I think these are good things to start talking about.” Miller also suggested that, with Meadowbrook and Spelter areas also still in the planning stages, “you should go ahead and prioritize these things.” Additionally bids will open on August 13 for the South and West trails.
Commissioner Hinkle then brought up the issue of “a section of trail (lost) into the stream” near Mount Clare “between the Post office and the Fire Department.” Miller said “we tried to get FEMA to fix it and could never make any headway” but “it has gotten substantially worse” and now that it involves a permanent stream “we will need an Army Corps of Engineers permit.” While some work on the section of trail between the VA Hospital and Lost Creek is being put out to bid, work on bridges and the landslide into the creek are separate matters.
Focus turned to trail matters in Clarksburg. Miller described the city as “the hub of your trail system . . . and I know they’ve gotten grants to study it.” He added that “they really need to be your partner in that because they’re really the ones that will benefit the most.”
Miller went on to add after discussion of possible moves in Clarksburg that “I’m getting a lot of interest from . . . the Elk River Trails in Charleston. They’re really wanting to connect into your system.” He added “I can see that happening at some point.”
In response to questions about the Shinnston end, Miller stated that a big slip repair project was underway. Commissioner Hinkle stated that “my big concern right now is getting Shinnston so we can run all the way to Fairmont open.”
