Holmes County trail plan would extend route into Killbuck Township

Residents now have a short window to shape a $5.28 million trail project that would push the Holmes County Trail deeper into Killbuck Township and change how people move around the Village of Killbuck. The Ohio Department of Transportation is taking public comments on Phase 5 of the shared-use path, a plan that would connect State Route 520 to State Route 60, add a staging area and trailhead off County Road 622, and improve access for trail users, buggy traffic and pedestrians.

The proposal goes beyond a simple path extension. ODOT says the final 2.34 miles would be built on an abandoned railroad bed, while the project also calls for work on the State Route 60 bridge over Killbuck Creek so the span can accommodate trail users. The plans include bridge rehabilitations, culvert replacements, retaining wall construction, safety rail installation, equestrian staging work and a sidewalk with signed pedestrian crossings at the State Route 60 and Water Street intersection in Killbuck.

For day-to-day travel, the details matter. ODOT says trail users may continue to access the existing trail from North Main Street near the Killbuck Village office, and there will be no impact on access at Township Road 91. Traffic and trail access are expected to stay open during construction, although short-term closures could happen when the new trail ties into the staging area. Construction is scheduled to begin in March 2026 and finish in October 2026.

The project lands in a county where the trail is already part recreation route, part transportation corridor. The Holmes County Trail organization says 22 miles of the planned 29-mile route are open, while the Holmes County Park District says the trail now has more than 26 miles of paved surface. The trail was first organized in 1996, when Dr. Robert A. Hart of Millersburg formed the Holmes County Rails-to-Trails Coalition to turn the old railroad corridor into a transportation and recreation trail built to accommodate Amish buggies.

That history helps explain why the Killbuck extension matters. Earlier work already carried the trail about four miles from Glenmont to Killbuck in Phase 5C1, with a generally 16-foot-wide asphalt surface, two-foot shoulders, four bridge crossings and culvert work. A related resurfacing project now covers about 7.5 miles of existing trail in Hardy, Killbuck and Mechanic townships, showing the county is maintaining the system while it expands.

When the full 29-mile trail is complete, Holmes and Knox counties are expected to have more than 50 miles of uninterrupted trail tied into the Ohio to Erie Trail system. For Killbuck Township, the decision now is whether this next segment is worth the construction disruption in exchange for safer crossings, better access and a stronger regional link.