The Huckleberry trail is a popular path for area residents.
Blacksburg Parks and Recreation Director Dean Crane calls it a "linear park" connecting "islands of green space." Whether you would rather walk, run or bike, Montgomery County's Huckleberry Trail cuts a picturesque path from the public library in downtown Blacksburg to the New River Valley Mall in Christiansburg.
Related: Map (Adapted from huckleberrytrail.org)
The total distance between the two is 5.76 miles and the path is marked every half mile .
The trail links green spaces in both towns and Montgomery County and sees foot and bicycle traffic in all seasons for recreation, sightseeing and exercise.
Built in part along disused railroad tracks, the Huckleberry Trail was set up in the '90s as a way to link several county and municipal parks and connect Blacksburg and Christiansburg with a foot- and bicycle-friendly path.
The trail also connects to several notable historical sites such as Merrimac Mine and the Mile-Long Tunnel.
As Blacksburg grows, however, changes are coming that will affect the trail. This popular place for residents to run, jog, bicycle or commute between Blacksburg and Christiansburg will undergo construction on both ends.
Friends of the Huckleberry is a local nonprofit that advocates for the trail. Friends uses local contributions as matching funds for state and federal grants to make repairs, upgrades and additions to the trail.
The organization is now planning an extension from the trail's intersection with the US 460 bypass to the Hethwood apartment complex that would allow an alternate bicycle and foot commuter route from Hethwood to Virginia Tech's campus.
The trail spur begins at a gravel road where the current Huckleberry Trail passes under US 460. There, the trail turns south and heads toward Christiansburg. The spur will loop north through some of Tech's research facilities to the east side of Stroubles Creek, eventually ending in Hethwood.
Half of the funds raised for the addition went to Blacksburg engineering firm Andersen & Associates, which is designing the trail. The other half will go toward construction.
Andersen & Associates is the same engineering firm involved in the controversial 1st and Main development project on Blacksburg's South Main Street.
Friends also wants the Huckleberry to eventually connect to Blacksburg's Gateway Trail into the national forest, as far as Pandapas Pond - a popular destination for bicyclists, according to plans.
On the Christiansburg end, plans are in motion to extend the trail from the New River Valley Mall over Route 114 to downtown Christiansburg, and off-grade crossing (a bridge or underpass tunnel) will be built to safely cross 114.
A further change coming to the Huckleberry Trail has some supporters and residents feeling uneasy.
The Virginia Tech Montgomery Executive Airport plans to extend its runway, which at present ends at Tech Center Drive near some dairy sciences facilities and a power substation.
Because of FAA safety regulations, these buildings will have to be moved, along with the Huckleberry Trail.
"I don't understand why we need to move these buildings for this dinky little airport while in Roanoke the planes shake the buildings of the shopping center they fly over taking off and landing," said Blacksburg Corridor Committee member Paul Smeal.
The Blacksburg Corridor Committee manages greenways within the town. Smeal's chief concern is that the trail will be dangerous to pedestrians in its new location.
In a letter to Airport Authority Director Michael St. Jean, Smeal called the current intersection between the Huckleberry Trail and Tech Center Drive "the most dangerous on the VT campus" and said that an off-grade crossing at the new CRC road being built to sidestep the runway expansion should be included in FAA-funded infrastructure modifications.
"As I understand it, if it isn't there now, the FAA won't pay for it," Smeal said.
"Right now we have a lot of help from Bill (Ellenbogen) at Friends of the Huckleberry and Joe Meredith at CRC. When the students are back, I'd like to see some groups like the Sierra Club get involved in this," Smeal said. "Right now, I'm not sure if Rick Boucher knows anything about this."
On April 8, Blacksburg Town Council passed a resolution calling for cooperation between all parties involved in building an off-grade crossing at Tech Center Drive.
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Its great to see the long-term vision for The Huckleberry realized with this new connection to Hethwood and ultimately to the Jefferson National Forest. Equally beneficial to the entire area from Bburg to Cburg is the grade separated crossing at The Malls on its way into the town of Cburg. As for the VT Airport relocation project, there has always been a strong need to grade separate there as well, and since the airport runway will be lengthened, new taxi way built + upgrades to the apron + new hangars, it is logical that Tech Center Drive + The Huckleberry will be adjusted to make room. As for comments about 'the dinky airport' - folks it is about to undergo a fairly important physical expansion to meet rapidly increasing needs. It is indeed smaller than Roanoke but its use has grown 100% + is only going to get busier as the CRC doubles in size...that's what will keep our local economy growing. Realize it or not, Blacksburg-VT-VT CRC are a gigantic economic engine that is prepping for much more global importance, growth + stability. The Huckleberry is a phenomenal local asset that not only benefits the community but is one of the 'quality of life' amenities the town offer drawing more people to live + work here. Making it as safe as possible with grade separated crossings will only benefit everyone who uses it. Go for it!
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It's not clear to me why these airport changes should be making people feel uneasy. The trail crossing at Tech Center is far from the worst on the trail - the crossings at Warm Hearth Village, Hightop Rd, and Merrimac Rd all come to mind as being as bad or worse - with blind corners and higher vehicle speed.
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