Akron proclaimed itself to be the first major Ohio city to reconstruct the entire length of the Towpath Trail within its corporate limits.
The city on Wednesday opened its final $6.1 million, half-mile section of the popular Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail. The morning ceremony on West Bartges Street drew about 100 participants.
Mayor Don Plusquellic took a shot at Cleveland and urged that city to build more of the Towpath Trail at its northern end.
“Come on, Cleveland, get your act together,” he chided the city to the north.
Akron has completed about 10 miles of the popular bike-and-hike trail through the city, he said.
Cleveland has completed 1.3 miles of the Towpath Trail within its city limits plus about 5 miles of connecting trails, officials said.
Plusquellic called the trail opening “an exciting day” and thanked nearby residents for their patience on the bridge closing at the historic canal.
Dan Rice of the Ohio & Erie Canalway Coalition called the event “another major milestone.”
The ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the opening of the trail from 740 feet south of the Advanced Elastomer System complex at Falor Street south to about 550 feet southwest of West Bartges Street.
The new section runs 0.53 miles in the shadow of the former B.F. Goodrich factory complex.
The concrete trail cost $3.2 million — with more than half coming from federal sources. The trail with lampposts and landscaping is 14 feet wide.
It is complete except for a 100-foot section at Falor Street near the old B.F. Goodrich power plant that is used by Akron Energy Systems to produce steam heat for downtown Akron where a bridge over the canal was removed. That work will be done soon.
Akron also reconstructed the West Bartges Street bridge over the canal at a cost of $2.9 million, most of which was federal stimulus funds.
The bridge work is slated to be completed by the end of November.
Akron spent nearly $2 million in city funds on the two projects.
The work was done by Akron’s Kenmore Construction.
Next week, Cavanaugh Construction Co. will begin to reconstruct the Towpath Trail between West Bartges and West Thornton streets.
That work will cover 1,250 feet of trail. The existing trail is not up to Towpath standards and needs to be upgraded, officials said. The work is expected to cost about $900,000.
To date, about 87 miles of the Towpath Trail have been built in Summit, Stark, Tuscarawas and Cuyahoga counties.
Metro Parks, Serving Summit County, is working on the last section of the Towpath Trail in Summit County.
That 1.25-mile stretch between Eastern Road in New Franklin to Snyder Avenue in Barberton is scheduled to be completed by Dec. 31. It will likely be dedicated next spring.
The trail is to be 101 miles when completed, but additional sections must be completed in Stark, Tuscarawas and Cuyahoga counties.
Officials are planning a major celebration next year to mark the completion of the trail in Summit County.
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.
