Rail-Trail Extension Plan Moves Forward
[Marion County] Commission awards MSES with contract to add 17
more miles
Morgantown Dominion Post
18 September 2011
By Chris Dale
Marion County Commissioners moved closer to almost doubling the
mileage of the county’s rail-trail system Wednesday.
“We’ve been working on this project for five or six years,” Marion
County Planning and Development Director Richard Walton said.
“CSX wants to donate property, but before they do, CSX and our
county want to ensure it meets certain standards,” he said.
“Today’s action permits us to go ahead and negotiate a contract
and fee with MSES Consulting to conduct environmental testing.”
Commissioners awarded a contract for Environmental Engineering
Services for the rail-trail. MSES was chosen by a committee
comprised of three community members: Walton, Tony Michalski and
Kris Cinalli. The committee reviewed 12 proposals before selecting
MSES Consulting.
The committee will now negotiate a contract and fees with MSES for
the work. The contract and fees will then go to the commission for
approval.
“We expect the environmental review to begin in the next couple of
weeks and be finalized sometime in mid-October,” Walton added.
“Testing will begin when CSX executes the agreement and we
negotiate a contract with MSES.”
Michalski, assistant director of Marion County Parks and
Recreation, is excited by the prospects the trail provides Marion
County residents.
“We already have 20 miles of trail within the county, and this
will add approximately 17 more miles,” he said.
Perhaps more importantly, the trail will extend to the northern
part of the county.
“This develops a corridor into the northern part of the county,
from Barrackville to Dent’s Run,” Michalski said.
“We plan on making an across-town link to connect to the West Fork
River Trail and the MCTrail. The MCTrail connects to the Mon River
Trail, which runs through Morgantown and into Pennsylvania.”