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New trail connecting Eden to Huntsville

Posted at 1:45 PM, Nov 10, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-10 15:45:26-05

Mark Benigni, Executive Director of Weber Pathways, told us about the new Pineview Loop Pathway. After almost 10 years of work, the PLP (Pineview Loop Pathway) will connect Eden to Huntsville, which are 6 miles apart. The last section of approximately 0.75 mile to make this connection was particularly difficult to design. Weber Pathways looked at many design options including raised pathway near the road using large retaining walls of steel sheets and raised boardwalk along the shore. Both turned out to be exceedingly expensive, especially the cost to make it usable by equestrians. Cutting a pathway into the existing shore was also considered, but was determined to be unfeasible because of the steepness of the existing embankment. Weber Pathways, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with two paid staff, has led the effort of a large and diverse team of stakeholders to complete the PLP to this point. In addition to matching funds provided by Weber Pathways, the sales tax funded RAMP grant program has been a major contributor. RAMP grants have funded almost every section completed to date. Other contributors include Weber County, the U.S. Forest Service, the Utah State Recreational Trails Program, the Community Foundation of Ogden Valley, the REI Grant program, the Huntsville Marathon Committee, the Summit Mountain Holding Group, Wasatch Civil Consulting Engineering, and others. Already, thousands of Ogden Valley and other Northern Utah residents use the pathway each week to bike, walk, and jog. Snowcrest Junior High and Valley Elementary students use the pathway to safely bike and walk to school. With this final connection from Eden to Huntsville, more residents and visitor will use the pathway for active transportation to shop, go to the library, go to restaurants, and visit friends without the necessity of driving. The Ogden Valley Master Plan shows the PLP as a non-motorized paved pathway around the entire Pineview Reservoir with a connection to a pathway through Ogden Canyon. To support Weber Pathways go to weberpathways.org.