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Temporary Antietam Iron Works Connector Trail

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park » Temporary Antietam Iron Works Connector Trail » Document List

The National Park Service, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal NHP, will establish a temporary trail between the park and Harpers Ferry Road, parallel with Antietam Creek, Washington County, MD. This trail will be available to pedestrians during repair work on the county owned Harpers Ferry Bridge, which will close the roadway for approximately 200 days during the summer of 2010.

Purpose: Visitors, as pedestrians or bicyclists, coming from Antietam Battlefield, and points south, will not be able to access the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal NHP at Antietam Campground when the Harpers Ferry Road Bridge is out of service.

Need: The trail will serve as a connection between the intersection of Harpers Ferry Road and Lime Kiln Road and the canal/park during the period that the Harpers Ferry Road Bridge is closed for repairs.

The temporary trail will be 960 feet in length over an existing farm field access road. The trail will be 8 feet to 10 feet wide.

The trail will be maintained by mowing with no anticipated trail dressing application. Mulch, meeting NPS standards, may need to be placed within muddy areas, should they develop. Carsonite signs will be installed to mark the trail for users.

Upon completion of the bridge work, this temporary trail will be removed and the trail will no longer be mowed, allowing to return to pre-trail conditions.

Work will be undertaken by park day labor staff. The trail will be gated to prevent unauthorized vehicle entry.


The park's Interdisciplinary Team reviewed the project for impacts to natural and cultural resources. The project does not pose any serious or long-term effects to the environmental, historical, cultural, archeological, or visual resources. It meets categorical exclusion #C.11 – Minor trail relocations, development of compatible trail networks on logging roads or to the established routes, and trail maintenance and repair.

The project also meets the National Historic Preservation Act/Section 106 Programmatic Agreement, Streamlined Review Process - #2 Rehabilitation and/or Minor Relocation of Existing Trails, Walks, Paths, and Sidewalks


Contact Information

For further information about this project, please contact Chief of Maintenance, at 1850 Dual Highway, Suite 100, Hagerstown, MD 21740.