McMinn County rail-trail project gets funding boost

Farmland is seen adjacent to the Eureka Trail on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016, in McMinn County, Tenn. The trail is being formed from an old railway corridor as a Rails to Trails greenway project.
Farmland is seen adjacent to the Eureka Trail on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016, in McMinn County, Tenn. The trail is being formed from an old railway corridor as a Rails to Trails greenway project.
photo Athens Director of Parks Austin Fesmire looks for leftover railroad spikes along the Eureka Trail on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016, in McMinn County, Tenn. The trail is being formed from an old railway corridor as a Rails to Trails greenway project.

Community leaders in McMinn County, Tenn., are hopeful a recently awarded state grant will provide enough money for the completion of a rail-trail project connecting two towns.

The 4.9-mile, pedestrian and cyclist-friendly Eureka Trail starts in Athens, Tenn., and now stops at State Road 39.

Austin Fesmire, Athens parks director, said negotiations are underway with CSX Transportation for the acquisition of the remaining 1.5-mile stretch of abandoned rail corridor. That would take the trail into the Englewood town square, where it could provide the town an economic boost.

"If we get [the acquisition] done for the right price, it'll give us the money to develop the trail as well," Fesmire said. "We're hoping we have enough money to put the surface on it, but obviously we have to acquire the property before we can do anything."

The state awarded Athens and McMinn County with $200,000 in August for the project. It requires a 20 percent local match and an archaeological approval that is pending, Fesmire said.

The rail line that once carried workers from Athens to Englewood's Eureka Mills textile factories is now a regional example of the national rail-trail movement.

There were just 250 miles of rail-trails when the Washington, D.C.-based Rails-to-Trails Conservancy was established in 1986. Now there are thousands of miles of rail-trails across the country.

While the projects are more common on the west coast, Atlanta's Silver Comet Trail and the expanding Mountain Goat Trail near Sewanee, Tenn., are prominent regional examples of the phenomenon.

Once the land acquisition is complete, Eureka Trail project leaders hope to build the trail up to the Englewood Textile Museum and company store.

"Basically, we would like to use the Englewood Textile Museum and parking lot as the trailhead," Community Action Group of Englewood Chairman Mark Cochran said. "We think that brings a lot of folks to Englewood who may not visit on a daily basis. That gives them a reason to park on that side and maybe grab a burger or some drinks at a local restaurant and hit the trail."

The Eureka Trail won an award from the Coalition for Recreational Trails this year for engagement of public sector partners.

"We're real proud of that because it's a hard award to win," Fesmire said, adding that it's common to see school groups using the trail. "We're exceeding our expectations of trail use out there."

Contact staff writer David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.

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