The wheels of progress turn slowly but Clarksburg, West Virginia leaders are confident that CSX soon will finish appraising more than five miles of railbed for a proposed Rails to Trails in and around Clarksburg.

The trail is planned as an extension of the existing North Bend State Park trail that runs from Parkersburg to western Harrison County.

Once the company appraises the property, negotiations can begin to purchase the railbed, said Kent Spellman, executive director of the Ritchie County Economic Development Authority. Spellman also was one of the founding members of the foundation and a former board member.

The EDA is the fiscal agent that administers grants for the North Bend Rails to Trails Foundation.

An $80,000 Transportation Enhancement Act grant already has been approved for the foundation. That grant includes a 20 percent local match, for a total of $100,000, to prepare the trail land from Wolf Summit to Clarksburg. The local matching funds came from the city of Clarksburg and the Harrison County Commission.

Clarksburg has teamed up with the North Bend Rails to Trails Foundation and the Harrison County Planning Commission to create a trail system through the city, culminating in trail hubs at the Veterans Memorial Park and in Adamston.

The North Bend Foundation's appraisal of the property is about $300,000, Spellman said. Also, it will cost about $150,000 to demolish an unused train trestle, which the Foundation wants CSX to deduct from the total, he said.