The Mon River Trails Conservancy celebrated the new Collins Ferry Connector at the end of Collins Ferry Road Tuesday afternoon with a special ribbon-cutting event.
This is the newest neighborhood-trail connection and improves the access of those living in the Suncrest neighborhood and along Collins Ferry Road to the Mon River Rail-Trail, according to the conservancy.
Following the ribbon-cutting, individuals and groups were invited to join a walk on the connector down to the Mon River Rail-Trail and back, which is less than a half-mile round trip.
The Collins Ferry Connector once was a section of the Pennsylvania, Morgantown, to Beverly Turnpike, which was constructed between 1836 and 1853 by the state of Virginia and later deeded to West Virginia when it became a state. As a wagon trail, it has a steeper slope than what you may usually experience on rail-trails. The new compacted stone surfacing has made that journey easier, but the conservancy asks uses to go slow and stay alert. If biking, check your brakes at the top. Conservancy members also ask that everyone share the trail; those coming down should yield to those coming up.
The Collins Ferry Connector was engineered by AECOM and built by Mountain Valley Resources. This project is partially funded by a grant from the Federal Highway Administration’s Recreational Trails Program administered by the West Virginia Department of Transportation, Division of Highways.
Additional donors include People for Bikes; the West Virginia Land Trust; the Be Active Grant Program, in partnership with the West Virginia Division of Health Promotion and Chronic Disease; Your Community Foundation of North Central West Virginia; the Oakland Foundation; Mylan Pharmaceuticals; Timberline Apartments/Promark Partners; Central Supply of West Virginia; and Mon River Trails Conservancy donors.
