A BIG thank you to the Atlanta Area Geocachers who cleaned up a section of the PATH trail this past weekend!! They recently became “Adopt a Trail” volunteers at the Candler Park section of the Stone Mountain Trail. To learn more about “Adopt a Trail” volunteer opportunities email the PATH office at path@pathfoundation.org.
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Island Trail System – Sea Island Causeway
PATH crews are partnering with Sea Island Company and the St. Simons Land Trust to build a trail from Frederica Rd to the entrance to the Sea Island community. The trail will be built along the south side of the causeway between the road and the marsh. The eight foot wide concrete trail will feature a pervious surface for much of the distance to minimize the impact on the coastal marsh environment. All permits and variances have been obtained. Construction of this trail will begin in May.
PATH Honored By GDOT
The Georgia Department of Transportation recognized PATH for twenty years of service to the State in a ceremony at the GDOT board meeting in December. PATH has successfully managed over thirty Transportation Enhancement projects to completion since the TE program was initiated in 1992.
“GDOT was a good partner for us right from the beginning” said Ed McBrayer, Executive Director of PATH. “The Department has been supportive of us every step of the way.”
GDOT Board members Emory McClinton and R. L. Brown both praised PATH during the ceremony. “The PATH Foundation has been able to connect our districts,” said McClinton, whose district primarily covers the City of Atlanta. “This has truly been a public-private partnership,” Brown added.
Not only has GDOT administered the TE program and allowed PATH to participate, they have provided right-of-way for trails such as US 278 between Rockmart and Cedartown, and have invited PATH to be part of the decision making process for many bike and pedestrian issues.
We are honored to be recognized by the Department in this way. We look forward to working with GDOT to build and improve facilities for bicycles and pedestrians around the state.
Detour No More
The long-standing detour at mile 15 of the Silver Comet Trail is no more. Paulding County removed the barricades and re-opened a 1,400 foot section of the trail near Weddington Road and milepost 15 the week of February 26th.
It seems like a decade since the colossal rainstorm of September 21, 2009 stopped and stayed over southeastern central Paulding County for hours, dropping as much as 19 inches of rain in a 24 hour period in some areas. The epicenter of this historic storm that flooded hundreds of homes and took out highway bridges in three counties, was centered over south central Paulding County. The embankment near Weddington Road where the trail is approximately a hundred feet above the surrounding forest failed under the torrent of water, sending trees, mud, and rocks onto Weddington Road and into the valley below. The failure of the banks left the trail precariously perched atop the embankment with eroded, near vertical cliffs on either side. The County immediately closed the trail while assessments took place.
The trail remained closed at mile 15 for several weeks until temporary fencing and warning signs could be erected along each side of the trail. In some places, the failed bank was less than ten feet from the trail. Paulding re-opened the trail after engineering assessments and fencing was completed.
The County sought federal disaster relief to help restore the embankment. Ultimately, the County received aid that required local participation. All-in-all the repair cost exceeded $1,500,000.
Thanks to Paulding County for staying with this effort and defending the need to restore the trail. It was a long ordeal that required perseverance. Thank you for patiently waiting for the detour to disappear.
Eastside BeltLine Almost A Trail
PATH crews continue to make progress preparing the Eastside Atlanta BeltLine corridor for a trail and future transit. Most of the retaining walls that will enable the construction for both trail and transit have been installed along the edges of the corridor through the winter. Bridge work at Ponce de Leon and Ralph McGill Boulevard began in March and will continue through May. Traffic on Ponce de Leon Avenue and Ralph McGill Boulevard has been affected intermittently as crews work to install the overhead bridges for the trail. The multi-use trail will be installed as soon as the bridges and retaining walls are in place and the corridor is graded to accept the trail.
The 2.5 mile-long Eastside Trail will connect Piedmont Park and the Historic Fourth Ward Park to the Freedom Park Trail and DeKalb Avenue. Construction of the section between Irwin Street and DeKalb Avenue will be delayed to allow for the reconstruction of the Edgewood Avenue bridge to be completed. The Eastside trail presently under construction will temporarily end at Irwin Street.
Plan to attend the grand opening of this trail to celebrate completion of the first section of Atlanta BeltLine Trail built on the abandoned railroad. Watch for grand opening information at pathfoundation.org or atlantabeltline.org.