CAPE CHARLES, Va. — Construction will officially begin Monday on a new five-mile segment of the Eastern Shore Rail Trail connecting Cape Charles to Cheriton, according to Ron Wolff, Executive Director of the Eastern Shore Rail Trail Foundation.
The trail will start near Rayfield’s Pharmacy, where a trailhead and parking lot will be built. STAR Transit is also set to install a bus shelter at the location, offering cyclists the option to use buses equipped with bike racks to access the trail.
From the trailhead, the path will run east along the former railroad right-of-way beside Stone Road. Upon reaching U.S. Route 13, the trail will turn south along a Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) right-of-way toward the traffic signal at Atlantic Union Bank. It will then cross Route 13 at the Food Lion intersection, where push-button pedestrian crossings will be added on both sides. The trail will end at Sunnyside Drive.
Initial funding for the project came from a $2.5 million federal earmark secured by former Rep. Elaine Luria. VDOT contributed an additional $1 million, bringing the total project cost to approximately $3.75 million. Branscome has been awarded the construction contract.
Although the VDOT contract stipulates a completion date of October 2026, Wolff said the trail could be finished ahead of schedule.
What a TOTAL waste of money! 3.5 million dollars for a “bike trail “ that will NEVER get used. Maybe they will at least allow golf carts to get to Food Lion, naaaaaa that little addition would multipurpose a grand mistake into two. I thought this Government Spending spree of tax dollars was supposed to stop. I mean really, please tell me who’s going to bike ride back and forth to Cheriton ? SMH!
Good points Kim, but anything that gets those #!☆*¿$! golfcarts off of the public roads is worth ANY amout of money. Had a youngster driving one run me off the road a few weeks ago near the old school.
I suppose if he had hit me Kalvas and Nachman would be suing me for a cool million
Golf carts are not permitted on any of the bike trails. Only walking, jogging, or non motorized bicycles are permitted. 99.99% of the entire trail will be 99.99% empty and unused at any given time. This is a very expensive project using tax payer funds with a very small selective group of people that benefit. The project should have been expanded to include a much larger segment of usefulness to the average tax payer.
The politicians that signed on for this need to be held accountable for wasting our money.
And they told you people there was no scrap value in the tracks they removed, that already had a gravel road running parallel to the R/R. They lied to you.
https://easternshorepost.com/2024/05/06/eastern-shores-steel-railroad-tracks-were-sold-for-1-5m-are-now-used-in-bolivia/
That gravel road was the old rail bed for the North bound trains.
Well, when some golfcart is eventually involved in a serious or fatal “incident” God forbid, I hope they sue the town of Cape Charles for several Million dollars and win.
That would certainly be an Interaction to get their attention…..
Golf carts belong on golf courses. What is wrong with you people?
What’s wrong with you Jan Parks?