BROCKWAY – President Paul Boboige will give a presentation on the “before” and “after” of the Five Bridges Trail that is being developed outside of Brockway at the annual public meeting of Tri-County Rails to Trails.
Tri-County Rails to Trails will conduct its annual meeting at 7 p.m. Jan. 19 at the Chatterbox Community Center, located 2.5 miles south of Brockway on Route 219. Refreshments will be provided.
Directors and officers will be elected, including new directors that express interest and commitment. “Adopt-A-Mile” volunteers and 2016 donors will also be recognized at the meeting.
During the meeting, Boboige will present the new Five Bridges Trail that has been steadily developed over the last few years.
In 2008, Tri-County Rails to Trails acquired the right-of-way for the Five Bridges Trail. It uses a portion of the former Shawmut and Pittsburgh Railroad corridor, which ran from Brockway to Brookville.
The trail takes its name from the five recently renovated timber bridges that span Mill Creek. It begins about one mile outside of Brockway and runs for eight miles to Allens Mills.
Beavers have made dams along Mill Creek. Also, today it is a scenic wetland area with many species of birds, ranging from Grouse to Great Blue Herons that inhabit the area.
The rest of the corridor, which is currently privately-owned, ends in Brookville. It is then possible to connect to the new Redbank Valley Trails, which ultimately lead to Erie, Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C. via other regional trail networks in western and southern Pennsylvania.
It is the Tri-County Rails to Trails group’s hope to be a part of the team that will eventually make that connection a reality.
For more trail information and contacts, visit the trail group’s Web site at www.tricountyrailstotrails.org, or visit its Facebook.