Vinton County Wins $2M ODOT TAP Grant for Final Moonville Trail Bridges

Vinton County Commissioners have been awarded a $2 million grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Transportation Alternatives Program to install the final two bridges over Raccoon Creek and advance trail improvements on the Moonville Rail Trail. The application for the TAP funds was submitted on the county’s behalf by the Moonville Rail Trail Association, which has led fundraising and construction efforts on the 10-mile corridor through Zaleski State Forest and the communities of Zaleski and Mineral.

The TAP award joins a growing package of funding for the trail. AEP Ohio provided a separate $25,000 grant specifically to help install the two missing bridge spans and to resurface the former railroad right-of-way. The Moonville Rail Trail Association announced it has been conditionally awarded $85,000 from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Clean Ohio Trails Fund. Earlier AMLER and AML Pilot funding documented by ODNR and Reclaiming Appalachia shows roughly $1.15 million was approved in prior rounds to extend the trail and build bridges; ODNR records also list other funding entries, including a line showing $620,500 and a form figure of 1,536,580 alongside an approved AML Pilot amount of 1,150,611.44.

Trail users currently face a key gap: two bridge spans over Raccoon Creek are missing and lie only a couple hundred yards apart, forcing people to leave the corridor, climb a hill and navigate light traffic on a nearby road. The Moonville Rail Trail includes 13 bridges and two rail tunnels and runs past Lake Hope State Park wetland areas, the King’s Hollow and Moonville Tunnels, the Hope Iron Furnace and access to former coal towns. Volunteers and local leaders have driven the project since CSX removed tracks and trestles in the early 1990s; Reclaiming Appalachia documentation notes volunteers used abandoned rail cars to construct the first two stream bridges and that seven high-capacity bridges and eight mine portal closures were completed on August 6, 2021.

Economic-impact estimates assembled during earlier phases project measurable local benefits. Reclaiming Appalachia’s analysis cites nearly $2.4 million in sales and 12 construction jobs from the immediate work, approximately $1.2 million in value added and about $720,000 in labor income, indirect effects generating roughly $210,000 in labor income and 3.2 jobs, and household-spending effects adding about $170,000 in labor income and 3.4 jobs. The report also states that spending tied to direct and indirect labor income would approach $3 million and support an additional 18.3 jobs.

Local and state partners listed in ODNR project records include the Moonville Rail Trail Association, Vinton County Commissioners, Vinton County Development Department, Athens County Commissioners, Raccoon Creek Partnership, Zaleski State Forest, Lake Hope State Park, Uncle Bucks Riding Stable, Athens County Planning Office and the Vinton County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Anthony DeBord, Customer & External Affairs Manager for AEP Ohio, said, “Moonville is a first-rate trail and AEP Ohio is happy to support it,” and “It provides a great recreational opportunity not just for local residents but for visitors, too. The rail trail preserves the surrounding environment, educates people about the rich history of the region and promotes economic development through increased tourism. It’s a wonderful new outdoor destination in southern Ohio.” Mary Jane Kelley, president of the Moonville Rail Trail Association, said AEP Ohio’s contribution is important not just for the connectivity of the trail but for creating momentum in making the project happen.

Public notices available with the grant announcements did not include a construction schedule or a detailed cost breakdown for the TAP funds, and the relationship between the TAP award and other grants for the same final-bridge work has not been spelled out in the material released so far. County officials and Moonville Rail Trail Association leaders are listed as the point organizations coordinating the project.