Comments sought on Holmes County Trail resurfacing project

A resurfacing plan now open for comment would touch about 7.5 miles of the Holmes County Trail in Hardy, Killbuck and Mechanic townships, changing one of the county’s most distinctive shared-use corridors. The project calls for removing pavement from both lanes, placing new asphalt and giving the buggy lane a double chip seal treatment built for heavy horse traffic.

For walkers and cyclists, the work would refresh the asphalt lane that carries most foot and wheel traffic. For buggy drivers and equestrian users, the heavier chip seal is meant to hold up under a trail that was designed for a very specific mix of users and still serves them every day. ODOT says short-term closures of one day or less may be needed while crews are working, which could briefly affect access along the trail and at nearby businesses that rely on steady trail traffic through Killbuck and the surrounding townships.

The project is listed as Holmes County Trail Repair 2 Shared Use Path, and it remains in the comment stage. That gives residents and trail users a chance to flag access points, construction timing, detours and the needs of buggy traffic before the work moves ahead. ODOT puts the estimated cost at about $760,000 and lists construction for spring 2026. In Holmes County, where the trail functions as transportation route, recreation space and visitor draw, even a maintenance job has a direct impact on how people move.

Trail materials describe the Holmes County Trail as the first in the nation designed to accommodate Amish buggies. They say 22 miles of the 29-mile route are open, including 15 paved miles from Fredericksburg to Killbuck and another 7.5 paved miles from Glenmont to Brinkhaven. The Holmes County Park District says the trail now has more than 26 miles of paved surface, with one lane for bikes and pedestrians and an adjoining lane for horses and buggies. The trail is open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., lower speed zones can be set in busy areas and the route connects to the Knox County Trail System at Brinkhaven, part of a longer Ohio to Erie Trail network that would grow to more than 50 uninterrupted miles across Holmes and Knox counties when complete.