Bike Trail construction to begin Monday

Construction of the bike trail from Cape Charles to Cheriton will officially begin Monday, according to Ron Wolff, Executive Director of the Eastern Shore Rail Trail Foundation.

The new segment, approximately five miles long, will begin near Rayfield’s Pharmacy with a trailhead and parking lot. STAR Transit will also install a bus shelter at the location. All STAR Transit buses are equipped with bike racks, allowing users to load their bikes, ride to the trailhead, and access the trail. The trail will proceed east along the railroad right-of-way beside Stone Road. Upon reaching Route 13, it will bear south along a VDOT right-of-way toward the traffic light in front of Atlantic Union Bank, then cross Route 13 at the Food Lion intersection. Push-button pedestrian crossings will be installed at the traffic light on both sides. The trail will end at Sunnyside Drive.

Initial funding for the project came from a $2.5 million earmark secured by former Congresswoman Elaine Luria. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) contributed an additional $1 million, bringing the total project cost to approximately $3.75 million. Branscome is the contractor awarded the project. According to the VDOT contract, the project has a firm completion date of October 2026, although Wolff said it could be finished sooner.

“One VDOT source said if they work straight at it, they could have it done maybe by the end of the summer,” Wolff noted.

The Eastern Shore Rail Trail Foundation does not yet own the southern segment—a 10-mile stretch extending from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel almost to Cape Charles—but negotiations to acquire it are underway.

“They don’t want to be in the trail business. We do,” Wolff said.

A groundbreaking ceremony is being planned for early May, though an exact date has not yet been announced.

“We are extremely excited. This has been a long time coming,” said Wolff. “We’ve run into some folks who said this would never get done in their lifetime. Well, at least the first section will get done.”