By Steven Allen Adams, The Inter-Mountain
CLAY, W.Va. — Gov. Jim Justice, House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, and other officials were on hand Tuesday to cut the ribbon on an extension and renovation for one of the state’s newest rail trails on Central West Virginia.
Justice and Hanshaw announced the start of work on the Buffalo Creek Recreational Trail, part of the new Elk River Rail Trail. The Buffalo Creek trail project will repair 14 miles of rail lines originally part of the 18.2-mile Buffalo Creek and Gauley Railroad company.
“Now, with all of the things we have going on, we continue our rebirth,” Justice said Tuesday under a canopy sitting next to part of the original rail system. “We’re here today celebrating another event that is just going to bring more and more and more goodness back to this area.”
While the rail line — chartered in 1904 — hauled tons of coal in its day, it will now become a piece of the Elk River Rail Trail State Park. When complete, the 28-mile system will allow riders and hikers to travel from Hartland in Clay County to Duck in Braxton County.