By Ronda Wertman
tribune correspondent
CARPENDALE — Good news came to Carpendale as Governor Joe Manchin presented a $240,000 grant for the next phase of the Rails to Trails project.
Mayor Butch Armentrout returned from Charleston with the word and hopes that the project will be engineered this winter and ready to move forward this spring.
Manchin awarded 25 grants. Armentrout said the majority went to small communities mostly for sidewalk and trail projects.
As part of the grant from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Carpendale has worked to raise the $60,000 matching funds.
Armentrout said that many have stepped up to assist in the matching including the Ridgeley VFW and American Legion, local delegates, the county commission and the town.
The Department of Highways will oversee the project which includes engineering the decking, railing for the bridge, grading the existing path to the level of the C&O Canal and making the trail handicapped accessible.
