Schuylkill River Trail to connect Saint Clair with Frackville

Apr. 26—SAINT CLAIR — Plans for the extension of the Schuylkill River Trail from Saint Clair to Frackville were unveiled Wednesday evening at a gathering in Coal Creek Commerce Center.

Julia Hurle, Schuylkill River Greenways trail director, outlined the proposed route during an outdoor meeting with about 30 supporters of the initiative.

"One of the important things is that it will connect Saint Clair and Frackville," Hurle said of a section known as the Mill Creek Trail. "It will serve as recreation and non-vehicle access for riders and walkers."

Overall, the Schuylkill River Trail will run 120 miles from Philadelphia to Frackville. It is pretty much contiguous from Philadelphia to Reading but sporadic from Reading to below Pottsville.

From Mount Carbon, where it currently ends, the trail follows Centre Street in Pottsville to Fairlane Village mall. It crosses Route 61 at Tunnel Road and works its way up Second Street in Saint Clair.

Hurle stressed the importance of the trail going through towns so users can have access to restaurants, businesses and the historic heritage of the region.

From Second Street, Saint Clair's main thoroughfare, the trail works its way through an area of old company houses built in the coal mining era and onto the lower end of Coal Creek Commerce Center.

In an effort to avoid the traffic in the shopping center, the trail will cross Mill Creek on a yet-to-be-constructed walking bridge to the area of Aspen Dental.

Then, it will travel along Route 61 to the former 1894 Mount Carbon bridge and north on a former rail bed to Frackville.

PennDOT has installed the concrete abutments on either side of Mill Creek on which the historic Mount Carbon bridge will eventually rest.

The 129-year-old iron truss bowstring bridge over the Schuylkill River was removed in August 2022 and taken to Ohio for restoration as part of the PennDOT project.

It is expected to be put in place near Vito's Coal Fired Pizza restaurant later this year.

From Coal Creek Commercial Center, the trail will follow an old railroad bed for 3 1/2 miles up the mountain to a Pennsylvania Game Commission parking lot below Frackville.

Hurle said the plan is to eventually run the trail through Frackville's main street, and a mile or so beyond the borough.

The Mill Creek Trail section, Hurle said, is currently in its engineering phase, which will cost around $200,000.

Following the outdoor session, Hurle chatted with potential donors informally in Vito's.

For information on Schuylkill River Greenways programs, visit https://schuylkillriver.org/schuylkill-river-trail/.

Contact the writer: rdevlin@republicanherald.com; 570-628-6007