Via email:
STATE HIGHWAY
ADMINISTRATION BUILDS NEW HIKER-BIKER PATH ALONG MD 51 NEAR C&O CANAL’S PAW
PAW TUNNEL IN ALLEGANY COUNTY
Half-Mile-Long Shared
Use Path is Part of $3.2 Million Resurfacing Project along MD
51
(July 17,
2014) – This fall,
bicyclists and hikers will have a safer way to access the MD 51 (Oldtown Road)
Bridge over the Potomac River from the C&O Canal Towpath near the PawPaw
Tunnel in Western Maryland. The State Highway Administration (SHA) partnered
with the National Park Service to design a new shared-use path along the south
side of MD 51, between the towpath trailhead and the Potomac River
Bridge.
“A popular
side trip for hikers and bicyclists on the towpath has been to leave the trail
and follow MD 51 about half a mile to the bridge to stop in town in Paw Paw,
W.Va., or use the river access there, but as a winding, two-lane road without
shoulders, MD 51 was not particularly friendly to bicylists or pedestrians,”
said SHA District Engineer Anthony Crawford. “We are pleased to partner with the
Park Service to design a safe, attractive and environmentally-friendly
solution.”
SHA is
constructing the 1,700 foot-long, 10-foot-wide shared-use path as part of a
resurfacing project on MD 51. The path will be separated from the roadway with a
concrete barrier topped with fencing. Weather permitting, it will be complete in
October.