CSX Transportation wants to raise a portion of the Keystone Viaduct on the Great Allegheny Passage at Sand Patch so its double-decker train cars can clear the structure, the Somerset, Pa., Daily American reports. The Somerset County commissioners approved a memorandum of understanding Tuesday with CSXT that outlines all the improvements the railroad will need to make for the project. The agreement also lists who will be responsible for construction, closure of the trail and when the actual work is being performed.

CSXT wants to raise the Blue Lick Truss one foot to 21 feet above the existing rail as part of its National Gateway Initiative. If a detour is necessary for trail users during the work, CSXT will be responsible for putting the detour in place, county Trail Coordinator Brett Hollern told the commissioners.

"A lot of the work using jacks and lifts will be done below the trail surface, so it basically will not affect the trails," Hollern said after the meeting.

Additionally, CSXT will make a donation of $25,000 to the non-profit Rails to Trails Association, said county Solicitor Dan Rullo.

The project is slated to start in the spring.

The commissioners also approved a contract with the Somerset Planning & Engineering Services Tuesday for $6,750 for surveying boundaries at the Rockwood trailhead.

"We need a legal understanding of the land we own," Hollern said. "Once we know where our boundaries are, it will be easier to accomplish future projects there."

Those projects are all now on a wish list. The first project would extend the parking lot to accommodate the increased numbers of trail users, he said. The next project, would be building a bridge.

At the trailhead all travelers must move through a parking lot. While in the parking lot, they have to share access with vehicles pulling in and out. Then trail users must cross Rockdale Road to continue on the trail. The county wants to build a bridge over the road that would follow the old railroad corridor. It would be a safer way to go for the trail users and there could be a clearer connection into the downtown area as well, Hollern said.

Construction of a changing room for both trail users and boaters of the Casselman River is already under discussion with the Casselman River Watershed Association.

The privacy screening structure would be built near a concrete launching ramp already in place at the river's edge near the trailhead, he said.