Nelson County is leading a regional tourism effort that would turn rails into trails. Hundreds of feet beneath Interstate 64 over Afton Mountain is an engineering marvel that could become the region's next big tourist attraction.
Nelson County has taken the lead on the effort to reopen the historic Blue Ridge Tunnel. The work to reopen the tunnel began more than a decade ago, but supporters say there is light at the end of that tunnel.
The vision is to attract visitors with a trail and tunnel system that honors our railroad heritage and celebrates an engineering marvel built in the 1850s under the direction of Claudius Crozet.
It has been a year and a half since parks and tourism officials took their last chilly trip into the Blue Ridge Tunnel. Project planners say a lot has happened since.
Nelson County planner Tim Padalino said, "Right now a lot of the hurdles are cleared. It's exciting that this project is 100 percent shovel ready. We've got the construction documentation in hand and the big hurdle right now is the implementation funds."
The price tag to fully rehab and reopen the nearly mile-long tunnel is roughly $3 million. The project would include parking and a system of trails leading up to and through the tunnel but the first phase needs only $740,000.
Padalino stated, "Phase one would be the Eastern Trailhead, which will be universally accessible. That will get us the trail complete up to and into the tunnel."
The passage runs between the village of Afton and Augusta County just outside Waynesboro. Supporters say communities on both sides of the mountain have a lot to gain.
The Blue Ridge Tunnel runs directly beneath where Interstate 64, Route 250, the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive all come together, so it is perhaps ideally positioned to draw visitors from all over the country.
Dennis Burnett of Augusta Economic Development stated, "Statistics that we have from the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive are resounding, truly they are. The region as a whole has a tremendous opportunity to capitalize on visitors, visitor spending."
In the final stages of planning, Nelson County has applied for technical help from the National Park Service.
Supervisors in Augusta County will vote on a resolution of support for the project Wednesday night.
