MORGANTOWN, W.Va. A new neighborhood trail is opening in the city of Morgantown. Executive Director of the Mon River Trails Conservancy, Ella Belling, said the section of trail is about 20 years in the making and connects Collins Ferry Road residents to the city via the Mon River Rail-Trail.
“It’s a neighborhood connection that will link up those folks who are living and working along Collins Ferry in Suncrest neighborhoods to the rail trail,” Belling said.
Belling and officials have been unsuccessfully searching for a historic photograph showing the original ferry location in its original state. But the original site was a ferry that served travelers crossing the Monongahela River before West Virginia was founded.
“It was built way back in the 1830s and 1840s by the state of Virginia,” Belling said. “So, it’s neat to bring back a historical route and make it function again for neighborhood transportation.”
The connection is about 1/4 mile long, with drainage. Over the next month, Belling said they’ll add signage and parking bumpers prior to the official ribbon cutting, which has not yet been announced.
Belling said 80 percent of the project was financed by the West Virginia Department of Highways (DOH) Recreational Trail Grant Program, Be Active WV Grant Program, in partnership with the WV Division of Health Promotion and Chronic Disease, Central Supply of West Virginia, Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Oakland Foundation, People for Bikes, Timberline Apartments/VVanguard Residential, WV Land Trust, Your Community Foundation of North Central West Virginia, and Mon River Trails Conservancy Donors.
Partners for the project include AECOM, Mountain Valley Resources, the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), DOH, and the West Virginia Division of Multimodal Transportation Facilities.
“Now it has a compacted stone surface, so much like other parts of the rail trail, it’s easy to walk on or run or bike on,” Belling said.
Belling said the trail does have a steep descent, but it provides convenient access to the trail system or even commuting options for those working in Morgantown. Riders are advised to go slow, stay alert, share the trail, and check their brakes at the top of the hill.
“I think for those living and working along that route, it can be a really great asset,” Belling said.