SUSQUEHANNA COUNTY, Pa. -- Little by little, miles of rail trail are being upgraded and transformed in Susquehanna County.
Six miles of the new and improved section of the D&H rail trail from Herrick Center to Ararat in Susquehanna County officially opened this past week.
Fences and road markings are the latest improvements to this trail that spans more than 20 miles from Carbondale through Forest City and north.
"There's a saying, 'You build it, they will come,'" said Kirk Newsom, the president of the Rail-Trail Council of Northeastern Pennsylvania. "That's proving to be true here."
Lynn Conrad and Kirk Newsom have poured lots of hard work into the rail trail over the years, and as soon as the new stretch was complete, the rail trail council announced nearly $500,000 in state money for even more improvements near the New York state line, including a trailhead in Stevens Point.
"There's a lot more people up that way in the Susquehanna area, Lanesboro area," said executive director Lynn Conrad.
Work on the new trailhead for the D&H rail trail near Lanesboro and Susquehanna borough may not get started until next year, but when it's finally finished, it's expected to attract lots of people here to recreate and filter into those communities and help local businesses.
"We're kind of forgotten because the trail ends here and a lot of people hang around the middle part of the trail," said George Cernusca.
Cernusca runs the Viaduct Beer Store in Lanesboro and looks forward to the day when the rail trail is complete and helping his and other businesses.
"If the trail continues on into New York State, it can only help," he said.