29-01-2025
Somerset County seeks 9/11 trail funds
SOMERSET, Pa. – With design work complete, Somerset County is seeking funding to build another section of the September 11 National Memorial Trail near Garrett.
That section totals less than one-third of a mile in length, but it's a critical piece toward advancing the project, Trail Coordinator Cathie Beal said Tuesday.
Somerset County commissioners voted 3-0 to approve an application request seeking $930,319 from the Appalachian Regional System for a project that would also upgrade a trailhead link in Garrett.
Vital 9/11 trail piece
The 1,500-foot section will extend the trail past a U.S. Route 219 overpass that includes the John P. Vatavuk Bridge, Beal said.
It's one of the few areas of the path that doesn't follow former CSX rail bed – instead traveling next to a retaining wall that allows the trail to avoid nearby wetlands, she said.
'It's designed and permitted, and ready to build,' Somerset County Redevelopment Authority Executive Director Steven Spochart said.
'We just need the money to build (it).'
The September 11th National Memorial Trail is a 1,300-mile network of roads and multi-use trails that connects the three sites where hijacked planes crashed Sept. 11, 2001, including Flight 93 National Memorial in Somerset County, the National 9/11 Pentagon Memorial in Virginia, and the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York City.
In Somerset County, the path follows the Great Allegheny Passage toward Garrett and heads north into town along a section of former rail bed donated by CSX that winds its way northeast to Berlin.
As is, the path currently comes to a halt just north of Garrett, near the recently built Route 219 overpass.
Beal already has design work underway on a longer segment of the trail that runs north of the Route 219 underpass area – but until the 1,500-foot segment is built, that segment can't proceed to construction, she said.
County commissioner's application approval Tuesday enables the Redevelopment Authority to turn to the Appalachian Regional Commission for trail funds.
Appalachian Regional Commission funds are competitive – but with Somerset County aiming to extend the trail toward Berlin prior to September 11's 25th anniversary, there's hope the project will receive support, Spochart said.
Match funding through the Community Development Block Grant program and September 11 National Memorial Trail Alliance are set aside for the project, he told county commissioners.
That means the county wouldn't have to spend any county tax dollars toward the effort.
'I'm glad they are taking the initiative to pursue this funding,' Somerset County Commissioner Irv Kimmel Jr. said, noting trail projects are costly.
Trailhead work
Another part of the grant request would cover planned parking improvements for a current Garrett-based Great Allegheny Passage rrailhead, which would also serve as a branching off point for the September 11 trail, Beal said.
The lot needs paving, and improved signage as well as landscaping, Beal said.
She said the project would add trees and new vegetation to welcome the steady flow of hikers and bikers who travel the trails.
Spochart is also hopeful the investment would allow Garrett to realize the benefit other trail towns, such as Meyersdale and Confluence, already receive.
Trailheads often spark new shops and restaurants, and that's something that would benefit Garrett Borough residents, too.
Rehab grant sought
Spochart also received approval in a 3-0 commissioners vote to apply for $250,000 in Department of Community and Economic Development funds.
The money would be used to enable as many as six Somerset County homes to see renovations.
If awarded, income- eligible homeowners could seek approval for upgrades that address code deficiencies within their primary residence.
It's been more than six years since the county last applied for funds through the program, describing the rehab project as a 'test run' for the county's Housing Rehabilitation Program.
