Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 20, 1995 TAG: 9507200036
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-8 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ROBERT FREIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
Federal and state agencies have approved the rails-to-trails project, concluding a year of red-tape delays, members of the engineering committee heard Wednesday.
Now the trail can spend the governmental grant it was awarded 21 months ago. Organizers say the 6-mile, multipurpose trail may be ready for bid by September once specifications are completed.
Costs may be lower if the project can be undertaken during winter months, when construction activity is slower, said Adele Schirmer, Blacksburg's director of planning and engineering.
In all, the committee has $900,000 in grant money to spend on the new pathway, which is designed to run from Blacksburg to the New River Valley Mall along an abandoned railroad right-of-way.
Planners reiterated their intention to build the trail in two phases. Construction will begin on the Blacksburg to Merrimac Road section first.
Next week, committees charged with designing trailside exhibits on coal mining history, railroad history and natural history will meet for the first time. This work will be supported by a recently awarded $5,000 grant from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.
by CNB