Published: July 21, 2009 03:20 pm      

B&O Trail looking for funds

Diana Virgil says the B&O Trail will be built next year.

She also says, however, that the B&O Trail Association is in need of about $50,000 to help with pre-construction engineering and design work.

“We’re not gonna stop, this is continual, we’ll do it one way or the other,” Virgil, president of the B&O Trail Association, said.

The other way is not easy. It includes borrowing the money, and seeking funds wherever they can.

Following a long, rough history with trying to get a trail built in Hendricks County, Virgil says the association is looking at a chance to have $3 million in construction grant money, but they must first come up with the pre-construction engineering and design work money.

She said they applied for and were granted federal highway money, but the way it works is that they have to pay 100 percent of the bill to the county, the county pays the Indiana Department of Transportation, and then INDOT reimburses the county, and finally the association, 80 percent of the money. However, Virgil said INDOT reimbursing the money doesn’t go as quickly as they’d like, meaning they don’t know when they’ll see that money again.

“We have to have 100 percent up front,” she said. “INDOT does not reimburse in the fast pace we would like, and we don’t have the money until we get reimbursed. That’s why we really need $50,000 to help us through this.”

All of the pre-construction work must be completed by early fall, as everything must be submitted to INDOT at the end of August.

“It’s definitely on the fast track to get this done,” Virgil said. “INDOT has a couple of weeks to review it and give the OK to it and then if we get this extra money, INDOT will let the contracts, and put the notice out for bids to come back for construction. Next year, construction will start. The money we hopefully get will pay 100 percent of the construction. At the end of next year we could have over 3 1/2 miles constructed.”

Those 3 1/2 miles will come in two sections. State Road 267 southeast to County Road 300 North is one section; Ronald Reagan Parkway east to where the trail is currently being constructed at Raceway Road is the other.

As for the history of the B&O Trail in Hendricks County, Virgil and other planners started in the early 1990s, learning how trails work and what would need to be done to have one come through Hendricks County.

“We applied for federal funds ... we applied three times, and received money for that,” she said. “At the same time, there was a statewide class action (suit) to determine ownership of the corridor, which started in 1994, and that wasn’t finished until 2003, nine years. So, while that was happening, the owner of the corridor, CSX, could not sell, negotiate anything with anybody.

“We had a delay and it was good and it was bad. We wanted to get it going sooner, so now it costs us more money, but we did get more public support. It was during that time that the Monon (Trail in Indianapolis) went in. That helped immensely. People know what the Monon is. You can walk and go on the Monon, people know. They know there’s nothing to be afraid of. Some of the people who were opposed have lessened.”

Virgil said safety is one of the main concerns for people whose property is adjacent to a trail.

“But the Monon has proved that it’s a great asset,” she said. “The businesses around it have been prospering and more want to be next to the Monon. So there’s an economic benefit, and besides with Indiana residents being on the heavy side, it’s a wonderful place to exercise and also commute safely.”

Virgil said she’s looking forward to having the trail in the county to bicycle on, something she enjoys.

“I’m a bicyclist and I’m always looking for safe places to ride, and I walk,” she said.

She said the community members she’s talked to are excited about the trail as well.

“The (trail) board have gone out and cleared part of the trail to help cut down on the cost,” she said. “We’ve had a wonderful response. One couple that just bought a house in a subdivision adjacent to the trail, said they bought it because it was adjacent to the trail. Another man and his son came up to us, asking when the trail would be finished, and saying they want to ride their bikes on it. And we went to a garage sale ... she said she can connect to (the trail) from her back yard and can’t wait to have a place to walk with her four kids.”

Virgil said anyone who donates to the trail association would be making a tax-deductible donation, as the association is a non-profit, 501 (c) (3) organization. Donations may be mailed to B&O Trail Association, 6038 Walnut Court, Brownsburg, IN 46112, or made online by visiting the website at www.botrail.org and clicking on “Donate Today.” Progress will be posted on the website.



charlee.beasor@flyergroup.com