The Pennsylvania Railroad continued using the line to deliver aviation fuel into the 1960s but, when that started being brought by barge, service ended and the last train ran south of Hughesville in 1965.
[9][10] Work on Phase V, a disconnected section in south Mechanicsville from Baggett Park to near MD Route 5, broke ground in 2010 and was complete in the spring of 2011.
The central piece, stretching about 950 feet north from Old Rolling Road, was built in 2005 as part of the adjacent South Plaza Shopping Center.
The northernmost piece, from FDR Boulevard to the driveway of the electrical power substation about 750 feet south along Three Notch Road/MD-235, was built around 2010 as part of the nearby Sturbridge Homes project.
[15] In 2018, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan's administration awarded St. Mary's County $4.1 million from two separate state and federal grant programs for the construction of phase VII - the 3.3 mile section from FDR Boulevard in California to Rescue Lane in Hollywood, MD.
[17] In December 2023, the St. Mary's County Commission approved matching funds for the grants that would allow work from the water tower at 24501 Three Notch Road in Hollywood to the Sturbridge Apartments section just south of FDR Boulevard.
Originally the county planned to acquire additional land to replace the railroad property taken in order to maintain the linear continuity of the trail, but the delay in building those sections seems to indicate they did not.