Representatives of the City of Vandalia, Five Rivers MetroParks, the Ohio Department of Transportation, the Miami Conservancy District, and MVRPC and residents of Vandalia gathered on a rainy Halloween-eve in Taylorsville MetroPark to celebrate the official opening of the new bike and pedestrian bridge and trail connecting the City of Vandalia to the Great Miami River Trail. These entities made a great partnership as the project evolved and complex negotiations were held with the railroad (always a daunting prospect). The partners showed great passion and patience and the final product is well worth the wait.
Nearly 8 years in planning, design and construction, the 1.5 mile route includes a new bridge over the active railroad tracks, trail through beautiful woods along US 40, and a combination of sidepath and protected cycle track along Brown School Road to National Road. At National, trail users will have a choice for how to reach the existing path on the north side of National that crosses Interstate 75. Users may either:
1) Cross National and ride/walk on neighborhood streets (Brown School, Westhafer, and Foley) to reach the existing path, OR
2) Ride west on National Road in striped bike lanes/walk west on National on the existing sidewalk.
The path over I-75 leads directly to Vandalia's downtown business district. Total distance is about 2.1 miles to the business district from the Trail.
Funding for the project was provided by MVRPC using Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality funding, with local match provided by the City of Vandalia and Five Rivers MetroParks. Total project cost was just over $4 million.
Vandalia now becomes the latest city to be directly connected to the 330+ miles of connected trail in the Miami Valley Trails network. Next time you venture out on teh Great Miami River Trail in Montgomery County, take a ride into Vandalia for a bit.
