Holmes County Rails to Trails Project Enters Final Phase, Connecting Glenmont to Killbuck

Crow Works in Killbuck is about to get a proper trailhead. The Holmes County Park District board authorized the sole bid on the final phase of the Holmes County Rails to Trails project at its March 19 meeting, putting Grassbaugh LLC's $5,196,483.64 proposal on track to close the county's last remaining trail gap between Glenmont and Killbuck.

Grassbaugh LLC was the only company to submit a bid. The proposal came in well below the Holmes County engineer's estimate, and the board moved immediately to authorize it and push construction forward.

The new stretch will cover approximately four miles of abandoned railroad bed from Glenmont to Killbuck, tracing Black Creek for a portion of the route before returning to the rail bed. The finished trail will be 16 feet wide in most sections, narrowing to a minimum of 12 feet at bridge crossings and short stretches near wetlands and streams. Four bridges along the corridor will be fitted with wood railings and asphalt surfaces, and several deteriorated culverts will be replaced to maintain drainage. Like the rest of the county trail, the segment will accommodate horse-and-buggies alongside cyclists and pedestrians.

Park district director Jen Halverson said construction is expected to begin in May, with the board targeting completion by late October. The Rails to Trails Coalition was wrapping up tree removal along the project strip through the end of March, clearing the corridor before crews mobilize.

A late October finish puts the trail in place just as fall foliage peaks across the Killbuck Valley, when weekend visitor traffic through Holmes County typically climbs. Halverson said the project will include a new parking lot near Crow Works, upgrading the rough lot that currently occupies the site. That access point will connect directly to Killbuck's ongoing streetscape project, giving the village a defined arrival point for cyclists, pedestrians, and horse-and-buggy riders coming from the Glenmont end.

The four-mile segment completes a route that runs the full width of Holmes County from west to east. The most recent prior addition ended near State Route 520 outside Glenmont, leaving the stretch into Killbuck as the sole unfinished section. The project, developed in partnership with ODOT District 11, is being managed by the Holmes County Park District as Phase 5C1. The district also plans to repaint the Crissey Memorial Pool in Millersburg this season, which Halverson said requires attention every few years, with the last repainting coming four or five years ago.