BRECKSVILLE, Ohio — Protection of the right-of-way of the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Rallroad will be part of infrastructure work at Cuyahoga Valley National Park funded by a $14 million grant through the Great American Outdoors Act, the park has announced.
The funds will stabilize the riverbank at locations along the Cuyahoga River where the railroad line and the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail are threatened. Work at eight locations is expected to begin in October and continue through early 2025.
“The towpath trail and the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad are centerpieces of the park experience that are very close to the Cuyahoga River. Being that close to the river offers beautiful views, but it also presents constant and costly maintenance challenges,” Lisa Petit, Cuyahoga Valley National Park superintendent, said in a press release. “This project will allow us to proactively manage infrastructure that provides safe and enjoyable recreational experiences while we protect and enhance our most important natural resource, the Cuyahoga River.”
A contract for the work has been awarded to an Akron, Ohio, company that completed emergency stabilization work at the park earlier this year. Erosion along the riverbank led to closure of part of the railroad route beginning in March [see “Riverbank issues lead Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad to cancel some trips,” Trains News Wire, March 7, 2022]; the railroad did not fully reopen until July [see “Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad to resume normal operations,” News Wire, July 13, 2022].
