PORT TOWNSEND — An extension of the Larry Scott Trail is now included in Jefferson County’s six-year Transportation Improvement Program — with the understanding that the county has neither the staff nor the funds to support the venture.
The three Jefferson County commissioners Monday unanimously approved incorporating the trail project into the plan.
The plan is scheduled for final approval as part of the consent agenda at its Nov. 23 meeting, which will begin at 9 a.m. in commissioners’ chambers at the Jefferson County Courthouse, 1820 Jefferson St.
The 8-mile Larry Scott Trail begins at the Port Townsend Boat Haven and ends at Four Corners.
The extension would double its length to Discovery Bay, where it would connect with the Olympic Discovery Trail.
The Discovery Trail, when completed, will be a 126-mile multipurpose non-motorized trail running from Port Townsend to the Pacific Ocean via Discovery Bay Village, Gardiner, Blyn, Sequim and Port Angeles.
About 70 miles of the Discovery Trail have been built, and another large section on the north side of Lake Crescent is nearing completion, according to Jeff Selby, the Jefferson County vice president of the Peninsula Trails Coalition.
The first step in extending the Larry Scott Trail is commissioning a feasibility study to determine its future route, which Selby estimates would cost between $25,000 and $75,000.
Adding the trail to the county’s transportation improvement program allows the trails coalition to apply for grant funding for the study, which Selby said needs a government sponsor to qualify.
“This doesn’t cost the county anything, and they are under no obligation to provide any kind of funding in the future,” he said.
“The county doesn’t have the staff or the money to do the study themselves, so we expect to take that on.”
While the exact route is yet to be determined, the extension would have three segments: from Four Corners to Anderson Lake, from that point to Eaglemount Road and then up into the tip of Discovery Bay.
At that point, it would connect with a trail in progress that will parallel and in some areas join U.S. Highway 101, eventually picking up the existing portion of the Olympic Discovery Trail between Blyn and Port Angeles.
The most challenging segment in extending the trail is crossing state Highway 20, Selby said, because construction of either a bridge or a tunnel would be required.
Selby said he expects the trail’s construction would begin with its third segment, as that path over the highway is the most critical.
The final cost of construction cannot be determined prior to the completion of the feasibility study, but it has been estimated as between $1 million and $4 million by the Jefferson County Department of Public Works.
Selby hopes to complete the feasibility study within the next four months so that grant funding applications for construction of the first section of the trail can be made in May.
Selby said he already has secured the cooperation of the major landowners for the expected path, which include the Jefferson County Public Utility District, State Parks, Pope Resources, the city of Port Townsend and the state Department of Transportation.
Depending on the preferred route, the coalition plans to contact private property owners and attempt to purchase rights of way, which Selby said will average about 30 feet wide.
Selby said the coalition would “only deal with willing sellers” for the land and that eminent domain would not be used for the land purchase.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.