A contract has been awarded to build a section of the Trout Island Trail, but work won’t begin until the spring.

“They figured there wasn’t enough time to do much this fall,” said Stephen Theiss, member of the Mercer County Trails Association.

PennDOT awarded the contract to Horizon Construction Group, Sandy Lake, on a bid of $438,380, said Christine Boyer-Krantz, PennDOT program manager for design services.

Although the bids were opened July 16, by the time Horizon completed the paperwork and the contract was awarded, there wasn’t enough time to start construction, she said.

A lot of excavation work needs to be done in Sharpsville, and asphalt plants are shutting down for the season.

“Paving can’t be done until April,” she said.

The association wants to build an 8-foot-wide, paved trail along the abandoned lines of the Pennsylvania and Erie railroads.

The 2 1/2-mile trail will start on Mercer Avenue in Sharpsville, curve along the south side of the Shenango River past the Shenango Dam in Hermitage, and then run along Trout Island Road into South Pymatuning Township and to Shenango River Lake, across from the Shenango Recreation Area.

Once construction begins, “It’s gong to go pretty quickly, depending on how many guys he (contractor) puts on it,” Ms. Boyer-Krantz said. “It’s something that can probably get done in 13 to 24 weeks.”

The money for the project comes from two PennDOT grants, one of which is funneled through the Shenango Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization, and one from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Association officials eventually want to extend the trail northwest along the lake to Orangeville, and also could extend it to Transfer and Greenville.