VBF president Champe Burnley and Richmond councilman Doug Connor appeared on PBS’s Virginia Currents to talk about rail-trails — especially the James River Branch Trail, a new rails-to-trails project in Richmond.

The new trail will run for 2.3 miles through the south side of the city on an abandoned CSX railway line, which, as the video shows, is currently suffering from illegal dumping. The new trail promises to clean up and revitalize the area, and tie into an interconnected network of local, regional, and even national trails.

As Champe points out, Richmond is a burgeoning mecca for bike trails and routes, with the Virginia Capital Trail, US Bicycle Routes 1 and 76, and the future East Coast Greenway all running through the city.

See also: US Bike Route 1: A Ride Through Richmond

Riders on the VA Creeper Rail-to-Trail Near Damascus, VA

Virginia continues to add rails-to-trails projects to its already rich inventory of trails and greenways across the Commonwealth.  Rails-to-trails offer citizens of all ages and fitness levels trails for walking, cycling, exercise, outdoor pleasure and alternative transportation in localities across the Old Dominion.

As  recently featured on PBS’s Virginia Currents television magazine, the James River Branch Trail in South Richmond is just the latest example of another rail-to-trail to potentially be added to the hundreds of miles already in Virginia’s inventory.

According to the Rails to Trails Conservancy, Virginia has 32 rail-trails totaling 283 miles.  There are another 12 active projects which, when completed, will add 69 additional miles of trails in the Commonwealth.  Some of Virginia’s best examples of rails to trails include the Virginia Creeper Trail, the New River Trail, the W&OD Trail, the newly opened High Bridge Trail and the extensive Tobacco Heritage Trail project. 

Nationally, there are 1,631 open rail-trails totaling over 19,578 miles! Another 724 projects are in development which, when completed, will add about 8700 additional miles.

Rails-to-trails projects offer health and environmental benefits, and provide recreation and transportation for local citizens.  Frequently, these rail-trails attract thousands of visitors, creating jobs and bringing tourist dollars to local economies. 

How It All Began

In the 1970′s, many railroads were facing severe business difficulties and miles of rail corridor were being sold off or even abandoned.   Congress allowed rail lines to eliminate  unprofitable lines with relative ease.  By jettisoning these corridors,   many rights-of-way were to permanently disappear and Congress realized it might be almost impossible to reassemble these corridors should demand change in the future.  These corridors were being abandoned at an alarming rate – 4000 to 8000 miles per year – and a valuable national resource was being lost.

With this in mind, Congress passed legislation in 1976 called the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act, creating the first Rails-to-Trails Grant Program. 

The Rails to Trails Act of 1983 allowed the railroads to “railbank” these corridors by allowing abandoned rail lines to be converted into trails for hiking, biking, equestrian and transportation purposes.  Currently, 301 corridors have been successfully railbanked totaling 5,079 miles, and 92 are currently in negotiation, while 159 corridors were abandoned when railbanking negotiations were unsuccessful. Of the railbanked corridors, 120, representing 2,764 miles, are presently open to the public for use as trails and 72 corridors representing 1,122 miles are currently under development. 

As a result of railbanking, these rail corridors are preserved for future use, while providing multiple benefits to the communities in which they are located.

A converted train trestle along the VA Creeper

A New Concept for Trail Development:  Rails-With-Trails

Virginia is leading the way in developing an exciting new trail concept called Rails-WITH-Trails, or trails along activerailway lines.   There are over 3000 miles of railroads cris-crossing Virginia.   As billions of tax dollars are being spent to enhance and improve active rail corridors, organizations like the Virginia Bicycling Federation are asking that trails be included as an integral part of these projects.  To learn more about RWTs,  see www.railswithtrails.com .

To see a comprehensive list of existing Virginia rails-to-trails, visit the Rails to Tails Conservancy’s TrailLink website.

Pedestrians and cyclists on the Huckleberry Trail near the New River Valley Mall

The Huckleberry Trail connects Blacksburg with Christiansburg, and is very popular for both recreation and commuting. Currently it runs for about 6 miles from downtown Blacksburg to the new River Valley Mall.

Extending the trail from the mall to the Christiansburg Recreation Center has been the region’s top bike-ped priority. The right-of-way is available, but crossing Hwy. 114 (Peppers Ferry Rd.) requires a bridge, for which there hasn’t been enough funding — until now.

Christiansburg resident Renva Weeks Knowles, who died in 2007 at the age of 95, has left a donation of about $1M to construct the Huckleberry Trail bridge.

The Christiansburg extension would allow cyclists to avoid the interchange at 460 Business and Cambria St., restoring an important link that was broken when the interchange was built. Christiansburg cyclists and pedestrians can now have a safe and appealing route to the mall — for employment, shopping, and entertainment.

Future expansion plans call for extension to downtown Christiansburg, connecting several neighborhoods along the way. At the Blacksburg end, plans are well underway to connect with Gateway Park and the Pandapas Pond area of the Jefferson National Forest, and its network of mountain biking and hiking trails. Long term plans include a connection with the New River Trail through Radford; and with a regional trail to Roanoke.

See the Friends of the Huckleberry website for a map and more info.

See also Southwest Virginia Online, “Huckleberry Trail Set to Expand.”

An interim on-road routing of the East Coast Greenway  through Virginia has been mapped based on meetings held across Virginia by the Department of Conservation and Recreation.  

Starting in Calais, Maine and ending in Key West, Florida, when completed, the ECG will be nearly 3000 miles long and connect the major cities along the Atlantic Coast.  Plans call for 90% of the trail to be off road.

A traveler’s guide, funded through the Virginia Department of Transportation, is under development for release in 2010.