The reconstruction of half of the Virginia Creeper Trail — wrecked last fall by Hurricane Helene — has been awarded to a Nebraska-based company, and work on the $240.5 million project is expected to start this month.
Kiewit Corp., which is headquartered in Omaha, was awarded the design and build contract by the U.S. Forest Service, which owns and oversees the damaged second section of the recreation trail.
The company bills itself on its website as one of North America’s largest construction and engineering organizations with 31,800 employees. It is employee-owned and operates in the U.S., with offices across the country, including in Virginia, as well as Canada, Mexico and the U.S. territory of Guam.
The 34-mile trail, which is in Washington and Grayson counties, ends at Whitetop Station near the North Carolina border. It starts in Abingdon with its midpoint in the town of Damascus, and the two towns manage that first section. That half sustained only minor damage and reopened just days later.
On Sept. 27, 2024, the inland effects of Helene devastated parts of Southwest Virginia, particularly Damascus and its surrounding communities. Flooding damaged and destroyed homes and businesses, bridges were knocked down and nearly a mile of U.S. 58 was damaged and washed away. The road has been rebuilt, which will help with repair of the trail.
The storm also resulted in financial devastation for many of the nearly 800 residents of Damascus, known as Trail Town USA, because they make a living in connection to the trail, from bike shuttle services to restaurants and inns. Town officials often refer to the trail as Damascus’ “lifeblood.” Prior to the flood, the trail drew 250,000 visitors each year.
The project will be a complete rebuild, according to a town news release. The work will include building or rebuilding more than 30 damaged or destroyed trestle bridges and reconstructing miles of washed-out trail tread, the release states.
The money for the project is a portion of $660 million approved by Congress in December as part of the American Relief Act of 2025. The rest will go toward other Helene-related damage and restoration projects, the Forest Service has said.
Damascus Town Manager Chris Bell said Friday that he expects Kiewit to roll into town this week. The project is a huge job that needs to be done by a large company like Kiewit that has the resources, equipment and employees to get it done, he said. The company will also hire subcontractors from the area to help, he added.
The Kiewit team that will work on the Creeper Trail is based in Peachtree City, Georgia, according to the town manager.
The town has been working with local businesses to get ready for the hundreds of workers that will be involved in the project, and Bell said he expects the company will soon provide a list of the resources it will need in the area, from housing to places to eat.
He is also working to set up a “community-wide meet and greet” with Kiewit officials in the next couple of weeks to give residents and business owners a chance to “shake hands with the contractor and potentially negotiate agreements that would benefit some of the local economy,” Bell said.
State Sen. Todd Pillion, R-Washington County, said Friday he expects the project to be an economic boon for Damascus and the county as well as all of Southwest Virginia.
He said he does not know of any other project in that area that costs $240 million, a total that came from federal officials.
Pillion added that he has spoken with Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger about the Creeper Trail project, and she’s aware of the critical need for the repairs and the need for it to be expedited.
The senator said the contract gives the company a year to complete the project, and he thinks Kiewit will meet the deadline. There will be federal oversight, he added, and it will be an “all hands on deck” project.
“The whole Southwest Virginia area is going to be improved by this project,” he said. “And then, when it’s completed, it’s going to be a national treasure.”
The upper half of the trail remains under strict closure for the duration of the construction period for both the safety of the public and worksite efficiency of the contractor teams, according to the news release.