Appendix 4-A - Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation ...

Typical Trail Maintenance and Operation Costs
Trail maintenance and operation costs are very difficult to generalize given the
vast array of trail types, surfaces, locations, lengths and widths, and funding
sources. This appendix includes average per mile costs as well as sample trail
budgets taken from the Rail-to-Trail Conservancy’s “Rail-Trail Maintenance and
Operations” report.
The costs below were compiled from websites and books, a list of which is
included at the back of this appendix.
Average Annual Per Mile Costs
Actual annual costs incurred by a trail agency:
$2,500/mile All asphalt trail system
$2,000/mile General rule-of-thumb for mix of trail types
$1,200/mile Very low-cost, minimum maintenance trail
Actual annual costs incurred by a trail agency plus costs from other sources
including city/county-funded police patrols and donated services and goods*:
$7,600/mile Struble Trail in Chester County, PA (2.6 miles of asphalt trail)
$9,200/mile Heritage Rail Trail County Park in York, PA (21 miles of
aggregate/compacted stone trail)
$7,000/mile Capital Area Greenbelt in Harrisburg, PA (20 miles of primarily
asphalt trail)
Trail Operations and Maintenance Costs Resources:
Flink, Charles A., Kristine Olka, and Robert M. Searns. Trails for the Twenty-First
Century: Planning, Design, and Management Manual for Multi-Use Trails.
Washington: Island Press, 2001.
Poole, Tim. “Rail-Trail Maintenance & Operation.” Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
Northeast Regional Office, July 2005. Available on-line at:
http://www.railstotrails.org/resources/documents/resource_docs/maintenance_op
erations_report.pdf
“Trail Maintenance and Management: Construction and Maintenance Costs for
Trails.” National Trails Training Partnership. Available on-line at:
http://www.americantrails.org/resources/ManageMaintain/MilwMaintcost.html