Jan. 27—What started as an idea from a group of residents in a small West Viirginia town has turned into a multimillion-dollar project which supporters say is poised to bring economic development to the region.

Last week, the Raleigh County Commission put Phase I of the Clear Fork Rail Trail project out to bid.

This first section of multi-use, no-motorized trail is just under eight miles and follows the former CSX railbed along W.Va. 1 in the northwestern corner of Raleigh County from Jarrolds Valley to Ameagle.

Clear Fork Rail Trail — Phase I

Construction for the first section of trail will include clearing, earthwork, grading, drainage, construction of an aggregate trail and other incidental construction work.

Bids for the project are due to the Raleigh County Commission by Feb. 21.

Once the commission selects a company, the trail is expected to take 6 months to complete, according to Roger Kennedy, landscape architect and vice president with Chapman Technical Group — the firm hired in 2019 to complete environmental studies, remediation and the overall design of the trail.

"We designed it to make it usable once construction is complete on the first phase," Kennedy said, estimating that the Phase I completion date would be sometime in August or September.

He added that the intended user base for the trail is hikers and bikers as well as possibly equestrian.

"The trail itself will be a fine aggregate like sand surfacing, which is easy for bicycles to ride on ... and will be 10 feet wide," Kennedy said.

Economic development

Kennedy said the design leaves room for local economic development that has been known to pop up once trails are established.

"We're working on (a trail) in Greenbrier County right now where a local farmer is setting up stables for horses so folks can come in and have a place to stay and a barn to put their horses in and then they can ride the trail," Kennedy said. "Hopefully that's the intent here (with the Clear Fork Rail Trail project) is to try to spur on some economic development."

Andrew Davis, the director of strategic redevelopment for the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority (NRGRDA), said his organization is also a long-time supporter of the project and hopes to be of even more use once the trail is opened.

"We know the types of support that the West Virginia Hive, which provides support to businesses and entrepreneurs, or the NRGRDA can provide, and we'd like to see those made available to businesses in Whitesville and along the trail," he said. "We want to see partnerships and support from our offices, to that trail and to that community."

Davis said the trail doesn't just provide opportunities for new business that may choose to locate along the trail, but it also provides other quality-of-life aspects that many employees and employers are searching for.

"We have really stepped into the realm of considering trails as infrastructure, not just for quality-of-life purposes for residents in our communities, but they're really the kinds of amenities that businesses are looking for to locate in areas and in communities," he said.

"So whereas it used to be more strictly electrical, power and other utility access to sites that were the primary inquiries we received as an economic development authority for businesses looking at site selection options, we're now getting just as many questions about proximity to trail systems and outdoor rec. Because businesses realize that employees want that, not just for health, but for fun, for quality of life."

Combs said this project is a perfect example of the efforts being made in West Virginia to rebrand itself as a destination for outdoor recreation.

"The Clear Fork Rail Trail Projects are part of a larger scope to attract further visitors, gain economic parity with the nation, and enhance quality of life for West Virginians," he said. "Also, tourism efforts are not just for tourists but for families of workers that relocate for good-paying jobs as well as for the amenities and recreational opportunities the area provides."

Funding

Funding for Phase I of the Clear Fork Rail Trail has already been secured and is mainly being paid for by a WV Department of Environmental Protection Abandoned Mine Lands Economic Revitalization Grant totaling $2.25 million.

Eric Combs, Region I Planning and Development Council project manager/GIS specialist, said funds are also coming from the Raleigh County Commission and the National Coal Heritage Authority for an estimated total project cost of $2,539,360.

Phase II of the project is approximately 6.87 miles and stretches from the Ameagle community to McDowell Hollow in the Clear Creek Crossing community. This phase is expected to cost more than $7 million.

Funding for Phase II is still in the works, and the county is looking to secure millions in grant funding from multiple sites including the Appalachian Regional Commission, WV Department of Environmental Protection Abandoned Mine Lands Economic Revitalization and U.S. EPA Brownfields Cleanup Grant Programs.

How it started

This rail trail project has been roughly eight years in the making and started as an idea from residents in Whitesville, W.Va., to turn an abandoned CSX rail route, which spanned just over 15 miles through the Clear Fork Valley, into a trail.

The idea was brought to light in 2015 as part of an initiative called Turn This Town Around, which was administered by The West Virginia Community Development Hub.

Two years later, the project received more than $2 million in funding from the Abandoned Mine Lands grant, and from there the project slowly began to take shape.

Combs said Region 1 was brought on board in 2019. The following year, the Raleigh County Commission purchased the former railway from CSX for $157,000.

While the project seems to be moving as fast as a slow-moving train, Combs said this is to be expected with a project of this scale that also involves a former railway.

"As with most infrastructure projects obtaining funding and acquisitions are major impediments to a project timeline," Combs said in an email to The Register-Herald. "Additionally, the rail trail project must meet rigorous requirements to comply with federal and state regulations ... Also, vandalism to some of the former railroad trestles has added to the timeline and costs for portions of the Phase II project."

Community support

Kennedy said a major part of the initial construction phase will be "capping" the trail.

"The railroad had stipulated that the trail be stabilized to a certain environment criteria for reuse," he said. "... Years and years of use by railroads — trains drip all kinds of grease and material and a lot of it is burnt diesel fuels that leaves byproducts that you don't really want to be around. That's why they tell you not to walk on the tracks — aside from getting squished by a train."

While this is a pretty standard procedure for railways converted into trails, Kennedy said it's costly and the materials needed for the capping can be cumbersome to obtain.

In this case, Kennedy said the cost and the procurement of material was made easy with help from a business located near the trail.

"Alpha Metallurgical Resources contributed material to the project, which saved us a lot of money," he said. "They're actually providing us with the stone capping material for the project. And it's coming from their mine along Clear Fork."

Without the donation of materials from Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Kennedy said the materials would have come from Charleston by way of barge. They would then be picked up by truck in Marmet and driven to the trail's site in Raleigh County.

Raleigh County Parks and Recreation Authority Executive Director Molly Williams said local partners have been such an important part of this project because the project is not just about attracting visitors and new businesses but is also about enhancing the lives of local residents.

"The idea started as a way to help build those communities up," Williams said. "So I think it's important because we'll be bringing business to them and giving them an area that is a public recreation area that they can use as locals."

For those who have not been in this area before, Williams said they will enjoy how different it is.

"It's different in that you're really not all that far away from Beckley, but you are at the same time," she said. "You're gonna have the remoteness feeling. You're not going to have cell service, so you're not going to have interruptions of everyday life. I think there's an aspect of calmness when you're out there because it is so beautiful.

"On one side you have a cliff; the other side you have a beautiful creek right next to you. Anytime people are outside, it's going to bring their blood pressure down. It's going to bring their anxiety down ... overall, anybody that comes to these type of things is going to be better off mentally, physically, spiritually."

Once completed, the trail will be maintained by the Raleigh County Parks and Recreation Authority.

The Clear Fork Rail Trail Project was made possible by the collective efforts of the Raleigh County Commission, Raleigh County Parks and Recreation Authority, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin III, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, Gov.Jim Justice II, WV Department of Environmental Protection Abandoned Mine Lands and Reclamation, National Coal Heritage Authority, Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Mountain State Trail Alliance, WV Department of Environmental Protection Office of Environmental Remediation, New River Gorge Regional Development Authority, Southern Brownfields Assistance Center at Marshall University, Whitesville Area Turn This Town Around Team/ROST Whitesville, Inc., National Park Service: Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program, Boone County Commission, former W.Va. Sen. Ron Stollings, former W.Va. Del. Rodney Miller, Community Development HUB, Active Southern West Virginia, Visit Southern West Virginia, Raleigh County Chamber of Commerce, CSX Corporation, Chapman Technical Group, The Thrasher Group, Colcord Presbyterian Church, the citizens of the northwestern Raleigh County communities, and Region I Planning and Development Council.

Email: jmoore@register-herald.com