Help FOC Improve the Jenkinsburg Access Road to the Cheat and Big Sandy!

Everyone who paddles the Cheat Canyon and Lower Big Sandy Creek knows about the poor condition of the Jenkinsburg Access Road. This road has continued to deteriorate each year causing real problems for paddlers and outfitters running shuttle. Large potholes, muddy ruts, washouts, clogged culverts, steep drop-offs and high rocks are hard on vehicles, especially the smaller cars most of us are driving.

Although Bull Run Road is a county road and should be maintained by the state, recent budget cuts combined with severe winter weather damage to primary roads make it unlikely that hard-pressed highway crews will give it much attention. Friends of the Cheat has received permission from the Highway Department to repair the road ourselves. They offered to contribute 100 tons of stone fill if Friends of the Cheat pays for the labor.

Kevin Ryan, Friends of the Cheat’s project manager, completed a GIS inventory of road conditions and lined up a contractor to do the work well before Cheat Festival Weekend. We will use a jackhammer to knock down the most troublesome rocks and fill in the worst ruts with stone. The road will still be rough, but more easily passable by ordinary vehicles.

Friends of the Cheat borrowed $5,000 so we could get this work done fast. We’re depending on you pay off this debt and to send a message to the State of West Virginia that the river and road are valued by the paddling public. Your donations will matter when we approach the Governor and Legislature to appropriate funding for more extensive improvements. Anyone who donates $100 or more will get a FREE friends of the Cheat membership or have their current membership extended one year.

Please forward this to any interested friends. Thanks, everyone!! Charlie Walbridge

Friends of the Cheat Road Fund 119 S Price St, Kingwood, WV 26537 (304) 329-3621