EBENSBURG, PA — A maintenance headache on the Ghost Town Trail may finally be nearing a lasting fix. In Ebensburg, crews are testing a new pathway material beneath the West High Street Bridge, where stormwater has repeatedly washed out the trail.
Officials say the problem has persisted for more than a decade, and they hope the new surface will reduce erosion and future maintenance costs. The project is small in scale, but if it works, it could mark a first for Pennsylvania trail systems.
What The Trail Section Is
The work site sits under the West High Street Bridge in Ebensburg, along a section of the Ghost Town Trail in Cambria County. The trail itself is a public recreation route, but this stretch has been especially vulnerable because water runs off the surrounding hillsides and into the path.
That runoff has turned the location into a repeating washout point. Crews are not rebuilding the entire trail here; they are testing a different surfacing approach in hopes of creating a more stable passage that can hold up against stormwater and still look like a natural stone path.
How The Fix Is Being Tested
According to project officials, the new material is designed to become completely nonporous. That means it will not absorb water, which should help cut down on mud, dust, and erosion in a place that has struggled with each of those problems.
Cliff Kittner of the Cambria County Conservation & Recreation Authority said the goal is to permanently repair the washout issues at this spot. Dan Hannan of Kakfa Granite said the material should create a stone-like pathway while avoiding many of the maintenance headaches that come with standard trail surfaces.
Why The Site Matters
The issue is not new. Officials said stormwater has been washing out this section for about 12 years, forcing repeated attention to the same weak point under the bridge. That history is what makes the test important: the trail has not just needed patching, but a more durable answer.
The work is being supported by a $20,000 Pennsylvania Environmental Council Maintenance grant. If the test succeeds, officials said the Ghost Town Trail would become the first trail system in Pennsylvania to use the new material, giving the project significance beyond this one location.
What Visitors May See
For now, the site is still in the testing stage, so visitors may notice active work beneath the bridge rather than a finished trail upgrade. The point of the project is practical rather than decorative: fewer washouts, less upkeep, and a surface better suited to heavy water runoff.
If the material performs as expected, the Ghost Town Trail could offer a look at how a long-troubled path is stabilized without losing its natural appearance. Researchers and trail managers will be watching closely to see whether the new surface delivers the permanent repair they are hoping for.
More of America's buried past, on LSM Spartan Scroll.
