ODOT and Holmes County Seek Comments on SR-520 to SR-60 Shared-Use Trail

Killbuck Township residents and the cyclists, Amish buggies and equestrians who use the Holmes County Trail are the immediate focus of a proposed shared-use trail linking State Route 520 to State Route 60 that would add a staging area off County Road 622 and modify the SR-60 bridge over Killbuck Creek. The Ohio Department of Transportation District 11 and the Holmes County Park District are seeking comments on the plan, which carries an estimated construction cost of $5,281,909.68.

The project notice posted March 3 lists the project limits as State Route 520 to State Route 60 in Killbuck Township and names the SR-60 bridge as Bridge No. HOL-60-04.23, which “the project proposes to include modifications to the existing State Route 60 bridge (Bridge No. HOL-60-04.23) over Killbuck Creek, to accommodate trail users.” The notice also describes development of a staging and trailhead off County Road 622 north of the Village of Killbuck and includes two map images of the project area.

ODOT’s public posting gives a specific construction window of March 2026 to October 2026, though the same project listing elsewhere uses the season labels “Winter 2026” and “Autumn 2026.” The notice says traffic and trail access will be maintained during construction but allows that there may be short-term temporary closures for tie-in work between the trail and the proposed staging area. Trail users are told they may continue to access the existing trail from North Main Street near the Killbuck Village office, and that access at Township Road 91 will not be impacted.

The project page displays a series of status tags - Proposed, In Development, Pre-construction, Construction, Completion - and identifies ODOT District 11 and the Holmes County Park District as project partners. The notice explicitly requests public comment on the proposal; details about funding sources or lane-closure plans for SR-60 are not included on the posting and would require follow-up with ODOT District 11 or HCPD.

Local trail infrastructure and operations would tie directly to the new link. The Millersburg Depot, also called Hipp Station, serves as the trail headquarters with a visitor center, restrooms, vending, a covered picnic area and a playground, and Holmescountytrail notes restrooms at Millersburg Depot year-round and port-a-jons at the parking lot south of Holmesville off SR 83, at the Depot, and at the trail end in Killbuck. Holmescountytrail lists trail hours as 5am–10pm and explicitly prohibits hunting, trapping, possession of air guns/slingshots/bows/crossbows, and camping or open fires along the corridor.

Tourism operators emphasize the trail’s economic draw even as mileage figures vary by source. Chargedride calls it “hands down the crown jewel of cycling in the area” and describes a “23-mile paved path” from Fredericksburg to Killbuck with bike rentals priced $20–$40 per day and e-bikes at $50 per day. Amishcountrylodging describes the trail as a “29-mile path,” 16 feet wide with 15 bridges including a 200-foot span, and TrailLink documents the route as two disconnected segments - a northern paved section between Fredericksburg and Killbuck and a southern 7.3-mile section between Gann (Brinkhaven) and Glenmont - with roughly a 3-mile gap and a recent 4-mile extension from Glenmont that leaves the Killbuck trailhead about a 3-mile highway ride from the new addition.

If the March–October 2026 schedule is accurate, the SR-520 to SR-60 segment and the County Road 622 staging area could be constructed within the year, bringing a formal Killbuck trailhead and bridge accommodations to a corridor already used by cyclists, Amish horse-drawn buggies and equestrians. ODOT District 11 and the Holmes County Park District are soliciting comments on the proposal as the project moves through pre-construction and development steps.