Rails-to-trails projects include lighted ‘tunnel’ for hikers – Standard Speaker

The Greater Hazleton Area Civic Partnership has nearly enough money to build a tunnel-like box culvert so that people using the Greater Hazleton Rails to Trails hiking and biking trail can safely walk where there is a truck crossing.

Bob Skulsky, the Partnerships executive director, said the group has obtained a $270,000 federal Transportation Alternative Program (TAP) grant, and a commitment for another $100,000 worth of pro bono excavation work from Coal Contractors, whose trucks cross the trail, toward the estimated $400,000 cost.

We need $27,000 to complete the engineering drawings to build it, Skulsky said. That is a high safety priority for us, because it is a dangerous situation. We have signs up, telling people Dont cross, high speed truck traffic, and people still cross. We dont want to see an accident out there.

Skulsky explained the culvert, approximately 16 feet long with solar lighting, will enable hikers to walk underneath the crossing.

It is basically a tunnel under the trail for pedestrians to go through, and the truck traffic goes over the top of it, Skulsky said.

The Partnership shopped for the strongest culvert made.

Originally, they only had water trucks going across, Skulsky said of the coal company. Now, they put a rail siding in, and are filling rail cars. We went in for the strongest culvert they could buy because of the weight of those trucks.

The group wants to build the culvert in June, but CAN DO President Kevin ODonnell said conbsidering the time it takes for permits, it would be a tight schedule.

Skulsky agreed, and said some of the preliminary work is done, and the rest could be done in time for June.

We dont need a lot of the clearances for it, just some permitting, Skulsky said. The preliminary engineering is probably going to take a couple weeks to a month, but could possibly be done within a week.

ODonnell cautioned that a concrete culvert may not be available.

PennDOT (the state Department of Transportation) is monopolizing the capacity of all the pre-cast concrete places now, ODonnell said. The liquid fuels tax gave them so much money they are now replacing every bridge in the world. We had to convert to an aluminum bridge in Humboldt Industrial Park. Aluminum is cheaper, but you want a pre-cast concrete box culvert here. It is a more appropriate use. Get your order in quick.

Another project the Partnership wants to do on the trail this year is the installation of new drainage pipes at the beginning of the trail off East Broad Street.

Sue Nasrani, the rails-to-trails chair, explained why that project is needed.

There is a creek that actually goes right through the trail, she said. When it rains, it washes out the beginning of the trail just before the turn.

Skuksky said that project will be done in April or May.

We believe we are completely ready to go with that, Skulsky said. The estimated cost is $8,333. We got half from Luzerne County Recreation and Conservation fund through a grant. One of the biggest cost factors is the pipes. One of the volunteers went out on his own and got a contractor to donate the pipes to us. The Hazleton City Authority has agreed to do the pro bono work to dig and put the pipes in.

Weather permitting, Skulsky said that project can be done in early spring.

We have a lot of things happening in early spring, and we are not sure we are going to be able to fit them all in, but we pushing to get the pipes in, Skulsky said. We have to do it before the fall (season).

The rails-to-trails committee is looking at installing pavers, or bricks, at the beginning of the trail to thank people who have donated to the trail.

But we cant do that before pipes are in, because that area washes out, Skulsky said

Another spring project will be tree planting.

Skulsky said Jessica Wykoff, the Partnerships Volunteer In Service To America worker, obtained a $2,000 TreeVitalize grant to plant more trees at the trail.

The new trees are going to be planted out on the old abandoned reclaimed mine lands, Skulsky said. They lack any sufficient vegetation yet, so we are developing a riparian buffer (a vegetated area that helps protect a stream from the impact of adjacent land uses) so the trail doesnt wash out. They will be available for adoption. There is a two-week window in the spring which is an optimum time to get them in. Its a lot to get that done. It is weather dependent. If we have five inches of rain before that, you cant dig into the ground.

More trees will be planted with funds from another grant obtained last year to treat diseased hemlock trees in the new picnic area at the beginning of the trail.

The other half of that grant is going to replace trees in the first half-mile of the trail that died, Wykoff said.

Some of the trees will be planted as part of a new Waterboxx project, which is a system designed to give trees in normally dry areas moisture.

It really helps our trees, especially the new ones, because it provides water right around the roots on a regular basis, said Sue Nasrani. It helped the new trees grow.

Finally, the 14th annual Hike and Bike event will be held at the trail on Saturday, June 10.

jdino@standardspeaker.com

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Rails-to-trails projects include lighted 'tunnel' for hikers - Standard Speaker