WHEELING - Work on a multi-million dollar plan to expand Wheeling's Heritage Trail continues - with the latest facets to include a useable railroad handcar and a pedestrian bridge that will span Wheeling Creek.
"We're still proceeding with the plan for 13 additional bike trail miles in the city," said R. "Scat" Scatterday, manager/project engineer for the Wheeling-Ohio County Rails to Trails system. "The intention of all these facets of the project is to create a local trail system that is considered unequaled in the eastern United States - and Wheeling a destination community and West Virginia a travel treasure."
The current phases being planned, he noted, will connect the existing Ohio River trail at the Interstate 470 bridge with the west portal of Tunnel Green via the vacated trails parallel to 33rd Street.
Article Photos
(Photo by Shelley Hanson)
Work on plans to expand Wheeling’s Heritage Trail continues. Shown here on the trail at Heritage Port are, from left, Drew Scatterday, 11, Mountain Mama’s Kayak and Bike Rentals co-owner Ryan Teufel, R. ‘‘Scat’’ Scatterday, manager/project engineer for the Wheeling-Ohio County Rails to Trails system, Mountain Mama’s co-owner Natalie Hamilton and Seth Scatterday, 13. Drew and Seth are the grandsons of R. “Scat” Scatterday.
It will then proceed north in front of the La Belle Nail Co. plant, cross 29th Street, continue north through the Chapline Hill Tunnel that runs beneath Ohio Valley Medical Center and W.Va. 2, to the Ogden Newspapers Printing and Technology Center. It will then continue along the south bank of Wheeling Creek, upstream to Tunnel Green.
"There will be an Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant ramp from the west portal of Tunnel Green down to the connecting trail," Scatterday noted.
He added that in front of La Belle, there are plans to install a railroad handcar to be used on 800 feet of double railroad track. A mechanical switch will be located at each end.
Also, Scatterday, along with city officials and project scientist Ben Stout, "are continuing to work on another connector from the east face of Tunnel Green downstream around the peninsula and downstream."
As part of the expansion, there are additional plans to renovate a double tunnel that runs under McColloch's Leap and Mount Wood Cemetery. This will allow for the connection of the north end of the north tunnel, originally known as the Mull Tunnel, to the river trail across from Mull Machine on W.Va. 2.
"You wouldn't see it if you didn't stop and look because it's overgrown," Scatterday said of the Mull Tunnel. "I have to get up there with a chain saw and whack off the trees and open that end up. It's a beautiful sight upriver."
Also on the drawing board is a two-span bridge, named the Wheeling Sky-Trail, that will use existing railroad piers in Wheeling Creek. The span's first pier is located at the intersection of the north end of the Market Street Bridge and 18th Street and will lead to another existing railroad pier, across and down the stream, in the vicinity of the Wheeling Cab Co.
"The second span is from that pier to the existing, elevated rail bed next to Main Street bank, passing over Main Street," Scatterday said.
He noted the trail expansion will require additional maintenance, grooming and security. With this in mind, a news conference is scheduled at 1:30 p.m. Monday at Wheeling Police Chief Robert Matheny's office to announce a new trail security system called "Trail Ambassadors."
"We will essentially be recruiting a group of everyday trail users for the purpose of being ambassadors to the public concerning information about the trails in the city, locations of eateries, distances, limited city history and more," he said.
The executive trail ambassador, he noted, will be Ryan Teufel of Wheeling.
Teufel and his business partner and cousin, Natalie Hamilton, are planning to soon open a kayak and bike rental shop, named Mountain Mama's Kayak and Bike Rentals, on the first floor of the McLure Hotel on Market Street in downtown Wheeling.
Scatterday hopes the trail will spur similar entrepreneurship in the city.
"There are even plans to hopefully open a 'bikery.' A 'bikery' is a combination bike shop and eatery, where you can have soup, salad, sandwiches and your bike fixed," he said.