Middleport to receive $330,000 plus grant for multi-purpose trail

More than $4 million going to communities in Southeastern Ohio

MARIETTA, Ohio – Seven communities in ODOT District 10, including Middleport, Ohio will receive a total of more than $4 million from the 2017 Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP).

The Village of Middleport will be recieving money for the Leading Creek Watershed Multi-Purpose Trail Phase 2 in the amount of $336,938.86. The Middleport Multipurpose Trail Phase II will connect the existing 1.6 mile multipurpose trail and extend it through tree shaded residential areas ending at the Marina, a park area which includes a boat launch into Leading Creek with access to the Ohio River for kayaking and canoeing, beautiful wooded and picnic areas and a paved parking lot for boat trailers and vehicles.

The application process is a two-step process. Each January ODOT invites local agencies to submit Letters of Interest describing their proposed projects and how they meet the requirements and objectives of the Transportation Alternatives Program. ODOT evaluates each letter and then invites the project sponsors who have a qualifying project to submit a more in-depth, formal application by the middle of May of each year.

“Those applications go through a scoring process and the merits of each project are discussed by a committee to determine which projects will be funded. Applications exceed the available funds each year,” said ODOT District 10 Planning Engineer Alan Craig.

Additional disbursements are as follows:

Morgan County: Muskingum River Multi-Use Path – $500,000
This is a multi-use transportation alternative project located along the Muskingum River in Morgan County (District 10) and more specifically in the Villages of Malta and McConnelsville.

Belpre Township: Right of way acquisition for Athens/Belpre Rail Trail – $237,500
This project will acquire a 1.6 mile long segment of abandoned railroad right-of-way in Washington County, currently owned by CSX Corporation, extending between Collins road (about 0.5 miles east of the county line) and the community of Little Hocking.

City of Athens: NW Athens Bikeway Spur Phase 3 – $311,659
The “NW Athens Bikeway Spur Phase III” project will connect the Hockhocking Adena Bikeway to the northwest area of the City, completing connectivity to an expanding corner of Athens.

Green Township: Hocking Valley Scenic Railway Phase 4 – $500,000
Railroad tie replacement and ballast work for this National Register of Historic Places listed railway.

Athens County:Village of Chauncey Bikeway Connector – $1,500,000
The Chauncey Bikeway Connector project connects the existing 21 mile long Hockhocking Adena Bikeway to the Village of Chauncey.

City of Logan: Main Street Sidewalk Improvements – $1,100,000
The project will replace existing deteriorating sidewalks in much of the downtown area and rehabilitate existing streetscape lighting that is not functioning properly. This will lay the necessary groundwork for improving the downtown infrastructure, bringing in tourists to the area and improving the local economy.

Vinton County: Moonville Rail Trail Bridge Phase 3 – $439,000
This project consists of installing 3-4 bridges, using existing abutments and recycled historic structures, if possible, and new materials as needed.