Cambria County and state officials broke ground Tuesday morning at the Ghost Town Trail’s North Street trailhead, which will be extended to Cardiff Road in Blacklick Township next year. Mirror photo by Matt Churella

NANTY GLO — Cambria County officials broke ground Tuesday on the final 1.5-mile section of the Ghost Town Trail’s C&I Extension, with construction slated to begin next week.

Phase I of the project, totaling $907,354, consists of constructing a pedestrian box culvert under Church Street along with the construction of about 2,500 feet of trail surface on the existing rail bed, said Cliff Kitner, executive director of the Cambria County Conservation and Recreation Authority.

The project will tie to the North Street trailhead and extend south toward Cardiff Road in Blacklick Township, he said, adding the remaining two phases of construction will likely start and end next year.

Once the 32-mile extension is complete, the Ghost Town Trail’s trail system will be the second continuous loop trail in the nation and the only loop trail east of Oregan, county officials said.

Kitner said it’s satisfying to see how far the Ghost Town Trail has come, noting officials have completed 18 miles of trail in the last couple years.

He said one of the county’s biggest challenges in the last 10 years was trying to get this section of the trail completed.

“Every time we’ve come up with a plan, a challenge happens,” Kitner said, adding Hurricane Debby caused $400,000 worth of damage to the trails that they’re still trying to repair.

Cambria County Commissioner Tom Chernisky said the county’s trails and outdoor recreation promote economic development in the region by connecting communities and historical sites while also supporting people’s mental and physical health.

“Our trails are getting national attention,” Chernisky said, adding he’s met people from Erie, Virginia Beach, Ohio and South Carolina on the Ghost Town Trail.

“Cambria County is blessed with natural scenery and the C&I Extension allows you to experience it,” Chernisky said.

The Ghost Town Trail is about 30 years old, according to Chernisky, who said expanding the trail over the years is proof that collaboration in government works.

Cambria County Conservation and Recreation Authority Chairman Tom Kakabar, Cambria County Commissioner Keith Rager, state Rep. Jim Rigby, R-Cambria/Somerset, and state Sen. Wayne Langerholc, R-Cambria, also spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony, attended by about 50 people.

Mirror Staff Writer Matt Churella is at 814-946-7520.