Ghost Town Trail Loop one step closer to being complete

NANTY GLO, Pa. (WTAJ) — The Ghost Town Trail Loop is going through one more change before it’s complete.

On Tuesday, the Cambria County Conservation & Recreation Authority hosted a groundbreaking celebration to kick off construction of Phase 1 of the final 1.5-mile section of the trail.

“I had two things I wanted to do when I started here. Create the entire length of the path of the flood; checked that off last year and create this loop. Check it off by the end of next year. So then I’ll look for something else to do, but I will. We got the possibilities of 53 more miles of trail that we can build in Cambria County right now,” Cliff Kitner, Director of the Cambria County Conservation & Recreation Authority said.

The 1.5-mile section will have three phases of construction before it is complete. The project received over $4M, one million of which came from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), and the rest came from the Department of Environmental Protection .

“Our goal is to have a trail within ten minutes of everyone. so this just continues to further that effort, and helps us to provide additional recreational opportunities for everyone, especially in our rural communities,” Lindsay Baer, Regional Director for DCNR.

The Recreation Authority says the trail serves as an example for other counties and states to copy, as they’re number one in the Commonwealth for the number of miles they’re building in rural trail development.

“Today’s a huge event, and we’re at the goal line. We’re at third base. We’re ready to cross home plate to win the game. This will be the second continuous trail loop in the country, east of Oregon. This is huge. This is huge for not just, Cambria County and region, but for the whole East Coast,” Cambria County Commissioner Tom Chernisky said.

According to the Recreation Authority, Phase 1 consists of the construction of a pedestrian Cast-in-Place Concrete Box Culvert under T-455 (Church Street) along with the construction of approximately 2,500’ of Trail Surface on the existing rail bed.

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The project will tie to the existing North Street Trail Head and extend the trail south towards State Route 3049 (Cardiff Road).

Construction on the Ghost Town Trail will start on Sep. 3., and phase 1 of the project is expected to be complete by November 2024.

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