FAYETTE COUNTY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – If you have recently visited Babcock State Park, you may have noticed heavy equipment traveling up and down Old Sewell Road below the Glade Creek Grist Mill.
Back in February, Governor Jim Justice announced $8.3 million in Transportation Alternatives and Recreational Trails Program grants for 29 improvement projects in 21 counties across West Virginia.
Babcock State Park received a total of $700,000 for the following projects:
• $350,000 for construction and rehabilitation of the current Narrow Gauge Trail which follows part of the old right of way of the Mann’s Creek Narrow Gauge Railway that ran from the New River at Sewell up to Clifftop.
• $350,000 for construction of 4.5 miles of new trail that will connect the trail systems of Babcock State Park and the New River Gorge National Park & Preserve.
Governor Justice said, “This program will provide millions of dollars that is going to be put to work making our cities and towns easier to get around and making our beautiful park trails even more appealing and accessible to West Virginians of all abilities.”
The 4.5 miles of new trail will follow Old Sewell Road from Babcock down to the New River. This new connection between the two parks is expected to attract many hikers, fishermen, and explorers who have an interest in the historical ruins that remain of the Mann’s Creek Railway and the ghost town of Sewell.
The WVDOT has been working throughout the year to complete the project.
Officials at Babcock State Park say that the current project of restoring 4.5 miles of Old Sewell Road is still ongoing.
The Transportation Alternatives and Recreational Trails Program is being administered by the West Virginia Department of Transportation and funded by the Federal Highway Administration.
