LVRT to open Phase 10A this month, hold 30th anniversary celebration this week

One of the most scenic sections of the Lebanon Valley Rail Trail will open to the public by the end of this month.

Phase 10A, which runs along Swatara Creek in northern Lebanon County from north of U.S. Route 22 to south of I-78, will be completed by mid- to late June, according to LVRT president John Wengert. LVRT will also mark its 30th anniversary Saturday, June 6, with a celebration and fundraiser.

“It’s just incredibly scenic and I really look forward to getting people, especially our state funding representatives, out here at some point and do a tour so that they recognize what they’ve been investing in,” Wengert told LebTown during a site visit. “I mean, the whole trail’s nice, but this section being right next to the Swattie and just having all that open land across it on the other side is, you just forget where you’re at. You forget you’re in Lebanon County. It’s hard to believe that in 10 minutes you can be in downtown Lebanon by car.”

Lined by trees on both sides of the trail at the northernmost portion of the section, it runs through a swath of forest by the meandering Swatara Creek. During the tour, LebTown and Wengert encountered two walkers, including Diane Kaylor of Old Bunker Hill, who shared her assessment of a trail she said she hikes at least once a week. 

“This trail is just beautiful. It’s just so peaceful and so beautiful. So, yeah, I really love it here,” she said.

This phase of the LVRT project also has historic significance. 

“So this is the (Union) Canal right here,” said Wengert, pointing to an area to the right of the trail heading south past a new bridge. “From here down to Route 22 the trail is built on the tow path, and it’ll follow the Swattie practically to Route 22 and then there’s another bridge like that one – almost exactly like that one – over a feeder stream.”

Wengert said this section comprises 2 to 3 miles of the 25.7-mile trail, which, when completed in 2028, will go from Colebrook near the Lancaster County line to Swatara State Park at the northern end of the county.

“After you cross over that (other bridge), the trail makes sort of a 90-degree turn west and goes under 22, under the underpass and then we’re back on the railbed all the way down to Bunker Hill Road,” Wengert said. “That’s the terminus right now on Bunker Hill Road. So this section (9C and 10A) is around 2 miles.” 

A major piece towards completing this section occurred with the placement last week of a bridge that runs over two feeder streams that converge into one and then dumps into Swatara Creek. The metal bridge that contains wood planks was set by construction workers late last week, according to Wengert. 

Despite the trail’s proximity to the creek, Wengert thinks it will be flood-resistant.

“It would be pretty rare. Possible, you know, during a 100-year flood event, which we had back in 2012, I think,” Wengert said, laughing when LebTown noted the trail should be flood-free for about 90 years. “Yeah, statistically we’re good. But the trail’s kind of resilient to flood damage; even in those bad years, you have damage, but it’s not gonna erode away.”

Wengert said the trail is sturdy because of the way it was designed.

“This thing (trail bed) is thick. I mean, this base is sturdy. So you may, in that instance, probably have to come back and resurface it (after a flood) and put the fine stuff down again. But it shouldn’t be major (work),” added Wengert.

Before the northern end of the trail can open to the public, a three-vehicle, handicap-accessible parking lot will be built just north of the new bridge. That’s the last major item in this phase to be completed.

Wengert said the parking lot will be accessible via Pine Tree Road, which intersects with Route 72 near the old Pennsylvania State Police barracks just north of Route 22. Additionally, some other “loose ends” need to be finished before the end of the month, according to Wengert.

“They’ll put gravel down. Stone dust all the way up to the parking spaces (from the bridge),” Wengert said. “There might be some signage that goes in and then we’ll do a final inspection, and that’s about it.”

Down the road, or in this case, the rail trail, Wengert envisions other work happening that will enhance user experience along this section.  

“I’m just thinking right now about, we have these projects, Eagle Scout projects and what have you, and they’re looking for things to do,” Wengert said. “And I’m just thinking a historical interpretive sign out here about the Union Canal would be a pretty cool project for some potential Eagle Scout candidate. We love that stuff. We have several in the southern half talking about railroad history and Cornwall’s history, etc. But this will be a good spot for something like that.”

Wengert also sees benches and possibly other amenities along this section.

“We get a lot of benches through our adoptive bench program, and so that’s happening all the time. Every other week I get a bench request, so we’ll be able to put some of those up here for sure. We have to look at where there’s some level ground for pavilion/picnic areas that would be other amenities that we definitely would be interested in pursuing with sponsors,” he said. “We have a whole new territory up here, so there’s a lot of potential sponsors we could talk to in this area of the county.” 

There are many opportunities for trail volunteers, too. 

“The same goes for our volunteer force. As we expand north, we need more local volunteers. We have some up in this area, but we’re gonna need more of those because most of our volunteers are concentrated in the southern area,” he added.

Minutes after commenting on the bench adoption program, Wengert and LebTown spoke with trail walker Rose Marinkov, who said she lives on Grace Avenue between Lebanon and Jonestown. 

Marinkov was hiking with her Labrador retriever, Felix, and enquired about erecting a park bench since she is a regular user of the portion of Phase 10A that’s open to the public. (Yellow warning tape strung across the trail just south of the new bridge marks the end of the portion that’s currently open.)

“I love being along the water. I can’t wait for it to get a little bit more shady, which I’m sure will happen, but I love it here. It’s beautiful,” Marinkov said, adding her husband George accompanies her by bicycle on excursions several times a week. “He (Felix) likes being in the water. I wish we were coming every day, but now I come a couple times a week, probably like three or four times a week.”

Adjacent to the new parking lot is where Phase 10A ends and Phase 10B begins. At that spot, the trail will rejoin the rail bed, according to Wengert. 

“That’s still got some loose ends as far as the pre-construction stuff, permitting and so forth. But next year we’re gonna go all the way (three miles) to Lickdale, so that’s when that will be constructed,” Wengert said about Phase 10B. 

Phase 10B public meeting

Concerning Phase 10B, a public meeting will be held on June 10 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m at the Union Township building, 3111 Route 72, Jonestown.

Public input will be gathered on the proposed project that includes an approximate 2-mile rural rail trail extending through Union Township. 

The LVRT website says “the planned improvements will include converting an existing abandoned railbed to a shared use pedestrian trail. This conversion will consist of re-stabilizing the railbed, shoulder grading, and installation of subbase and asphalt trail surface. The southern terminus of the project is located south of Interstate 78, east of Pine Tree Road.” 

Taste of the Trail

Tickets are available for the Taste of the Trail fundraiser and 30th anniversary celebration on Saturday, June 6, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the entrance of the rail trail outside the Lebanon Valley Expo Center & Fairgrounds off Rocherty Road in North Cornwall Township.

“Proceeds from the whole event will go towards trail maintenance and upkeep,” Wengert said. 

The event will feature culinary partners including Ancestor Coffeehouse & Crêperie, Mead Hall-Drunken Smithy, Revive Café & Craft, Ridgewood Winery, Rotunda Restaurant & Brewery, and Tröegs Independent Brewing. 

“We got this idea for Taste of the Trail from Stacia, who’s our event coordinator. And our board liked the idea because it was something different. We’ve really never done something like this before. It could become something that we do again,” Wengert said. “Aside from the financial piece, it’s just going to be a nice time to recollect, reminisce about 30 years of work on this project.”

Tickets to the event are available here.