CLARION, Pa. (EYT) – On July 28, Clarion County took more steps toward using nearly $800,000.00 in state grant funding for the development of the Redbank Valley Trail and the renovation of the Climax Tunnel, a project estimated to cost over $2 million.
Clarion County Commissioners Wayne Brosius, Butch Campbell, and Greg Faller approved a policy and procedures form for consultant selection and a resolution authorizing signatures for the Climax Tunnel project.
The county agreed in May to be the municipal sponsor, allowing the project to receive about $780,000.00 from PennDOT’s Transporation Alternatives Program.
Faller said the consultant selection involves work to follow construction, which will take place on both ends of the Climax Tunnel.
“Someone will be hired for construction, but there also needs to be someone to inspect the construction, and the consultant is that inspector,” Faller said.
The move is necessary to secure the PennDOT funding.
“Some paperwork needs processed, and it must be put in place for PennDOT to provide the TAP funds,” Faller adds.
The Climax Tunnel is a brick-lined structure built in the 19th century when the trail was a railroad. It sits at mile 17 of the 41-mile Redbank Valley Trail and has since fallen into disrepair, prompting the need for renovation to open the trail for full use.
