Proposed 16 mile Great American Trail Route thru Jefferson County Ohio
The proposed 16 mile route thru Jefferson County Ohio connects to the Great American Rail-Trail (gis.railstotrails.org) at Trail Point 1 which stops just west of Jefferson County Ohio near Belvedere and continues along the Ohio river in West Virginia. There is a gap through the Steubenville Wintersville area. The Sketch TG4122 shows a suggested route using existing roads, unused rail right of way, and new right of ways from near Belvedere to the The Market Street Bridge in Steubenville. This is a very conceptual route made using Google Earth and general local knowledge of the area. The most important factor in this route selection was trying to limit the grade which is important for bikers and wheelchairs. The next factor was making the trail so it included features that would eventually become national destination points. Cost, while important, should be evaluated based on the long term value of this trail to the community. Temporary, not as level shortcuts are acceptable provided the long term intent is to eventually make the trail as level as possible and include features which make it a national destination point.
A GOOD TRAIL THAT IS EASY TO USE AND HAS NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED DESTINATIONS SHOULD BE THE OVERRIDING FOCUS AND MUST NOT BE SACRIFICED JUST TO MAKE IT CHEAPER OR QUICKER. THIS IS A NATIONAL TRAIL AND MUST BE BUILT NOT ONLY FOR TODAY BUT FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS TO COME , A TRAIL THAT WILL MAKE THOSE IN THE COMMUNITY PROUD.
“if you build IT, they will come”
This proposed route includes the following destination points and features
- Historic Fort Steuben
- Steubenville Marina
- Ohio River panoramic view
- Seven Creeks Road scenic views
- Seven Creeks Roadside Spring Area
- 5 acre lake
- future covered bridges on Seven Creeks Road
- elevated walkway along river
- small park on top of hillside north of water treatment plant overlooking river
- Franciscan University
- Average slope less than 6% except for Point 4 to 5 Alt1
- large public parking spot at intersection of Staten Route 7 and 213
Sketch TG4122 Page 1 Point 1 to 6
Sketch TG4122 page1 provides overall 16 mile trail route from Points 1 to 6 showing major roads and communities.
Sketch TG4122 Page 2 Point 1 to 2
Point 1 connects to the existing route as shown on the Great American Rail-Trail (gis.railstotrails.org). A new right 6 mile of way needs to be provided from Point 1 to point 2 near the Walmart distribution center on State Highway 43. There is a stream bed that can be followed that provides an average grade of 4.5%.
Sketch TG4122 Page 3 Point 2 to 3
This is 2.9 mile section using an undeveloped existing train trail right of way that was never used and other right of ways that can provide a 3.6% average grade to Seven Creeks Road TWP 383. Along the Route is a very well built 5 acre, 20 feet deep, with concrete spill way lake that appears to have a beaver dam which would be a nice destination point. This was known locally as the Melban Lake as part of the farm above the lake. The lake once had two cottages and a pier.
Sketch TG4122 Page 4 Point 3 to 4
This section uses the existing Seven Creeks (TWP383) gravel road and Willscreek Road (JeffCounty43) paved road for 4.3 miles with a slope of 5.1%. Seven Creeks road has a few residents and limited traffic. The recently installed creek crossings at three locations however are too small and are washed out at east once a year when it floods and it also damages the road downstream of each crossing. It is a very scenic ride with a pristine stream and steep wooded hills along the road. There is also an automated roadside spring (scenic7creeks.com) that is open 24 hours a day and has been in service since 1998 when it was licensed as a bottled water facility. There is also a large concrete tree cabin next to the spring with a 15 foot 2000# rotating totem pole with good luck items attached to it that provides good luck when it is spun. In the long term replacing the three concrete box and metal pipe culverts with real bridges or even covered bridges would make this route a national destination point.
Willscreek road is paved and not a very busy road and probably can be used as is and has enough width in most locations that a separate trail could be added in the future.
Sketch TG4122 ALT1 Page 5 Point 4 to 5
There are three routes, but only two are economically feasible Alt1 and Alt2.
The third route, not shown would be to follow Route 7 on the west side of the highway above the high retaining wall and behind the concrete barriers, however there would need to be a very strong barrier to prevent any rocks from the high hillside from rolling onto any trail users.
Alt1 is 2.2 miles long and uses University Boulevard and the abandoned old Paddymud Road and has a slope of 9.1% and is pretty steep. University Boulevard is a busy road and a separate trail would need to be installed along it.
Sketch TG4122 ALT2 Page 6 Point 4 to 5
Again. there are three routes, but only two are economically feasible Alt1 and Alt2.The third route, not shown would be to follow Route 7 on the west side of the highway above the high retaining wall and behind the concrete barriers, however there would need to be a very strong barrier to prevent any rocks from the high hillside from rolling onto any trail users.
Alt2 is 1.8 miles long with an average slope of 3.9%, not including elevated ramp. This route would require use of the existing gravel road along the river used mainly to store construction equipment. It travels right passed the existing Marina and if it was widened and paved it would be a destination point not only for foot travel and bikes but also roller blades since it is so level.
Sketch TG4122 Elevated Walkway Page 7
Connecting the trail from the existing road along the river to County Road 43 across State Route 7 would require building a sloped elevated platform to a bridge across the train tracks north of the water treatment plant to the very steep hill. The trail would then use a carved paved trail along the side of the hill to go up and down the hill to the intersection red-light on Route 7 and Route 213. The 8 foot wide elevated platform to the bridge would be provided with observation and visitor rest platforms every 50 feet and be supported by concrete 18 to 24 inch concrete columns buried 6 to 8 feet deep along the existing train rail bed.
Not only would this elevated platform provide a nice view of the river but the top of the hill could be made into a park, again with a panoramic view of the river. This would definitely add considerable uniqueness to this section of the train and would undoubtedly become a national destination point for trail users. There is also a public parking lot across Route 7 for trail users.
Sketch TG4122 Page 7 Point 5 to 6
There already is some work being done in this section along the river and more is being planned.
Sketch TG4122 Terrain Page 8
This Sketch provides a view of the terrain for the various sections of the trail for information.
What Next?
Theses sketches were prepared using Google Earth to determine the distances and elevations and features along the trail to prepare this conceptual 16 mile route proposal. If there is interest in this route the next step would be for someone to look at all of the affected property drawings in the Court House in detail and then walk the route with a GPS recorder, camera and camera drone to more precisely locate the proposed trail and determine what obstacles are along the way. After a more precise location or locations are determined, the affected property owners would have to be contacted to discuss the feasibility of this route. Thereafter a more preliminary design with cost estimate, drawings and schedule can be completed.
This proposal was sent to the following
news@wtrf.com,
newsdesk@wtov.com,
TrailLinkSupport@railstotrails.org,
info@oldfortsteuben.com,
lharris@heraldstaronline.com,
jmccabe@theintelligencer.net,
Jefferson County Soil and Conservation ,
Terrance McKeegan