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Friday, 04 July 2008 |
By KAY LOUTH
Staff Writer
ST. MARYS — On a back road north of St. Marys, a small park nestled in a broad, green space is a great kick off point for a hike on a canal towpath, a local park official says.
Recently renovated Lock 14 on Schillinger Road is one of two parks in the Heritage Trail Park District of Auglaize County, said the district's Executive Director Allison Brady. The other is Deep Cut Park on Ohio 66, near Spencerville.
"We are also working on establishing parks throughout the county and are looking for other park gems like that at Lock 14,” Brady said.
Lock 14 Park has a parking lot where people could stop to hike the towpath along the Miami and Erie Canal.
“Probably the biggest attraction is that you can see the walk,” Brady said. “It is part of the Miami Erie corridor and is mostly for hiking, but you could also do off road biking and in winter do some skiing — if there is snow.”
A state grant is funding improvements at the towpath along Lock 14, which will complement the recently renovated lock.
“We have a Clean Ohio Trails grant,” Brady said. “We are improving 2.1 miles of the towpath trail from Glynwood Road to Lock 14. We're widening, cleaning and putting in a good base.”
Renovation at Lock 14 was spurred by its deteriorating condition, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Water Canal Supervisor Steve Dorsten said.
“Nature Works funding was used for that,” Dorsten said. “That was done through the Division of Water and assisted by the Division of Engineering."
The Lock 14 project was part a four-project venture including the 6-Mile spillway off of Ohio 66 at 6-Mile Creek, the renovation of the tumbles in St. Marys on High Street and a dredging project in Spencerville.
The Clean Ohio Trails grant is funding the improvements to the Lock 14 area towpath. The improvements include widening the towpath to 10 feet and the addition of a crushed limestone base to the path.
“It's open and right now (they are) working between Brewer Road and Glynwood Road," Dorsten said. "We have to widen the canal bank out because it was eroded. The Division of Water is doing all the contract work, Heritage Trails is acting as the fiscal agent. It is the same design as what have from High Street to State Route 33 bypass."
Part of the Clean Ohio Trails grant money went to lease a John Deere bulldozer, which is the perfect size to work on the towpath.
In Auglaize County, the towpath runs from Deep Cut to St. Marys, New Bremen and Minster. In its entirety, the towpath stretches from Lake Erie in Toledo to Cincinnati, with its summit in New Bremen near Lock One.
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 09 July 2008 )
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