KEYSER, W.Va. — Mineral County officials said Tuesday they will hold off on efforts to build a bike trail from Keyser to New Creek in favor of constructing a trail in the northern part of the county.
Discussion on the topic took place at the regular meeting of the Mineral County Commission at its offices on Armstrong Street in Keyser.
County officials had been looking for an unencumbered path and grant resources for a trail that would connect Keyser and New Creek, but finding a feasible route to cover the 5-mile stretch proved difficult. Officials said congestion in the area and lack of funding sources have hampered plans.
“I checked into every single potential funding site and nothing had funding that would work on the Keyser to New Creek trail,” said Commissioner Jerry Whisner. “My thinking is to put it on the back burner until we can see if there is funding available.”
Officials said stipulations tied to potential grant sources made securing funding difficult. In addition, all potential pathways contained obstacles.
Lauren Ellifritz, county clerk, said it would be difficult to “find a way to tie in the senior center up to the high school … with the hospital, Walmart and everything between the senior center and the high school.”
“It would require the erection of bridges,” said Luke McKenzie, county administrator. “I met with many people and a clear pathway was not found. No one could think of a way even if you stayed on (U.S.) Route 220. There are several intersections there and car dealerships.
“Once you pass the senior center there are creeks,” McKenzie said. “It’s not like taking an existing railroad bed and putting down a nice layer of gravel.”
Whisner said the county was unable to secure a $50,000 engineering grant to get the project started.
“That $50,000 was less than 10% of the design cost,” McKenzie said.
The officials said a better option would be to develop a trail in the north of the county.
“I’m working on a project in the north end of the county, which I think would be more feasible,” Whisner said. He said Rails for Trails grant funding under the federal Transportation Alternatives Program, which helps convert old railroad beds into biking and hiking trails, is a likely option.
The trail would connect the C&O Canal towpath along the Potomac River on the Maryland side with a trail at Green Spring and travel south along Patterson Creek through former railroad beds and wind into Short Gap. It would eventually cross back into Maryland and link Carpendale through a 1,500-foot former railroad tunnel. Whisner said a letter is being drafted that will request funding from Sens. Joe Machin and Shelley Moore Capito.
“Along with the funding, we are looking for funds to repair the tunnel at Carpendale,” Whisner said. “In doing so, it would enhance the Carpendale tunnel to fix it. I called the city of Carpendale; the 2019 bid was $2 million. I was going to incorporate it into the bike trail funding. In Short Gap, there is a tunnel about a mile long that would need some repair work, too.”
The Carpendale tunnel extends through Knobley Mountain.
“I know Carpendale really wants to get rid of that tunnel,” said Commissioner Dutch Staggs. “They have it fenced up now but they keep getting vandals in there tearing the fence down.”
“You hate to see that because it is a historic tunnel,” Whisner said.
Mineral County officials would also like to complete a roughly six-mile trail along railroad beds stretching from Barnum northeast along the North Branch Potomac River to Beryl, which lies across from Luke and the former Verso paper mill.
“Some trees are down there that would need removed. But, they have fishing there and whitewater rafting,” Whisner said. “So we will try to combine the grant for Barnum and the northern bike trail. It’s a positive. People come from all over the place to ride the trails.”