LEWISBURG -- Nearly 12 miles of abandoned railroad track between Lewisburg and Mifflinburg is a step closer to becoming a scenic walking and biking path now that the Lewisburg Area Recreation Authority has officially purchased the property from the West Shore Railroad.

The authority, LARA, completed the $200,000 purchase this week of 11.8 miles of track and right-of-way from Montandon through Lewisburg to Mifflinburg with plans of converting it to a recreation trail, according to Trey Casimir, LARA's board chairman.

He said LARA used a $150,000 grant from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and borrowed $50,000 to complete the deal.

"The grant was provided to us through (Union County's) allocation of state Growing Greener funds," Casimir said. "We also used funds available to us in a line of credit. Our next step is to have the steel tracks raised and sold, which should pay for a lot of the developmental costs and pay back what we're out so far."

When completed, the rails-to-trails project will be among the first in the Valley along with J. Manley Robbins Trail in Montour County and Penns Creek Trail in Snyder County.

Although actual groundwork isn't expected to start until next year, Casimir said the next phase of the project is already under way.

Mid-Penn Engineering Corp., which is partnering with LARA on the project, is getting ready to bid the steel-raising project. The hope is to have the railroad property cleared of track and ready for development by the end of the year, Casimir said.

"It would be our dream," Casimir said. "That's a very optimistic outlook, but we're working to get things done as soon as we can."

In addition, LARA continues work on developing concepts for what the trail may look like, as well as speak with adjoining property owners about the trail's impact on them, according to Casimir.

"We're in the very preliminary stages of this," Casimir said. "We're still doing a lot of fact-finding and holding meetings with property owners. We want to make sure their concerns about their property, liability and privacy issues are addressed. We're assuring them the safeguards will be in place."

According to Casimir, the estimated cost of the whole project could reach $1.2 million and could go higher if LARA decides to include the railroad bridge across the Susquehanna River with the trail.