JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Officials have broken ground on East Tennessee’s first Rails to Trails project.
The Johnson City Press reports officials report the ceremony celebrated the first phase of the project, which will eventually become a pedestrian path called the Tweetsie Trail that stretches 10 miles from Johnson City to Elizabethton. Officials from both cities attended.
The first 6-mile section will offer recreational opportunities between the Alabama Street trail head in Johnson City and Sycamore Shoals State Historic Area in Elizabethton.
Members of the Rails-to-Trails Task Force have raised about $135,000 and have launched a fundraising drive for more. The estimated cost for the entire project is about $530,000.
“It’s a tremendously important project for both Johnson City and Elizabethton,” said Johnson City Mayor Ralph Van Brocklin. “We’re kicking off today a 6-mile section which will be constructed entirely with private donations.”