At the March 26 City Council meeting, plans were revealed for the upcoming indoor sports complex at Charles Pointe, including a proposed connector trail, expanding Bridgeport’s trail system connecting various city facilities with Bridgeport Recreation Complex and new indoor complex at the hub.

 

Also in the works is an expansion of the trail system on the other side of town – connecting the trail/tennis courts at Hinkle and Deegan lakes to Bridgeport City Park/Bridgeport High School. A portion of that trail addition would run along South Virginia Avenue.

 

“Property owners have been identified for easements – where the trail is going to go,” said City Manager Kim Haws.

Plans for the extension are about 99 percent complete, said City Engineer Beth Fox.

 

“We are in the process of starting land acquisition/donation now. Hopefully that won’t take long,” she said.

 

The trail alignment ties into the existing trail along the city side of Route 58 near Hinkle Lake.  It is expected to follow along that side of Virginia Avenue, through Burnside properties, Abraham property and The Shoppes of Averil Place (Artworks, Provence Market, The Nest) -and continue above the storage facility, Fox said.

 

Just above The Square – the revamped shopping plaza which houses Dollar General Store and other retailers – the trail will cross Virginia Avenue at Hill Street.

 

“The trail will continue to the intersection of Virginia Ave and Route 50 (East Main), where we are currently in discussion with the West Virginia Division of Highways local manager on getting a pedestrian crossing installed,” Fox said.  “This would be beneficial on many levels and alleviate much safety concerns in that area.”  

 

While the process has been time-consuming in bringing this project to fruition, it’s important to remember that - being a grant project - there are a lot of stakeholders involved, Fox said.  

 

“We deal with the Federal Highways Administration, the WVDOH, the design consultant, property owners, utility companies,” she said. “I am optimistic in seeing construction begin sometime toward the middle to end of summer.”

 

Hopefully by late fall, the expanded trail system will be in use, Fox said.

 

The project is being funded with $560,000 in federal grant dollars obtained by Bridgeport Parks and Recreation in 2016. Originally, the project was slated for completion in summer of 2017, but because of right-of-way issues and multiple land owners involved, the legwork has taken several months, said Parks and Recreation Director Joe Shuttleworth. 

 

At one time, the city applied for a T21 grant to extend the trail to Bridgeport Municipal Building.

 

“The state wasn’t permitting us to do anything with the retaining wall by Noah’s Ark. We couldn’t put a sidewalk in there, so we moved east on Main Street,” Haws said.

 

Editor's Note: Pictured from top are two views along South Virginia Avenue, one looking toward Hinkle and Deegan Lakes from The Square, in the vicinity where the trail will cross Virginia Avenue and the other looking the same direction from near Burnside Funeral Home, City Engineer Beth Fox and the four-way intersection at Virginia Avenue and Main Street, where a pedestrian crossing will be installed and the trail will cross.