Lynchburg city officials are getting ready to kick off a project to convert an abandoned railway trestle into a pedestrian and bicycle bridge, one that will allow the Blackwater Creek Trail to be extended from its current ending on Langhorne Road to Linkhorne Middle School. A groundbreaking is set for a week from Thursday. Price tag: almost $2 million, most of that from VDOT.
NEWS RELEASE: On Thursday, December 5 at 10:00 a.m., the public is cordially invited to attend a groundbreaking ceremony for the start of the Langhorne Road Bridge Renovation and Blackwater Creek Trail Extension Project. The ceremony will take place at Ed Page Entrance to the Blackwater Creek Trail, 1720 Langhorne Road.
This project, anticipated to be completed by November 2020, will include the stabilization and renovation of the abandoned Langhorne Road railway trestle and the continuation of the Blackwater Creek Trail (Bikeway) from its current ending at Langhorne Road to Linkhorne Middle School. It will also include the conversion of the trestle into a pedestrian/bicycle bridge and the addition of a new asphalt connector trail from the Ed Page Entrance parking lot to the bridge and onwards to the grounds of Linkhorne Middle School.
The overall cost of the project is $1,960,000, with the main source of funding from the Virginia Department of Transportation. The City of Lynchburg appreciates the continued support of Virginia Secretary of Transportation Shannon Valentine and Commonwealth Transportation Board Representative Bert Dodson for their assistance in securing the funding for this important project.
Coleman-Adams Construction, Inc. is the contractor, and Whitman Requardt & Associates is assisting the City with the design and construction management of the project.