ATT Phase E, I-40 bridge funding approved via two-thirds bonds -- but Third Fork Creek trail scaled back

First, a quick "welcome back!" note to those of you who, like me, were away or traveling throughout the Christmas-New Year's holiday axis. (In case you missed them, be sure to check out the BCR posts over the past two weeks for discussions of the Croasdaile Harris Teeter plans, the Whole Foods relocation intrigue, West Village's race-to-the-year-end finish line, and our 2007 year in review stories.)

One story that many folks may have missed -- and decidedly filed here under better-late-than-never -- is the report just before the holidays that City Council leaders approved the plan to include $1.5 million in Phase E funding for the American Tobacco Trail in the two-thirds bonds being re-issued this year. This brings the total allocated for the project to nearly $6.5 million. (To correct a common misconception, that doesn't mean the city's buying a $6 million wunderbridge; about half of those funds are needed for the bridge, with the other half going to complete the last few miles of the ATT between NC 54 and the Chatham County line.)

This is good news for bike and ped activists, who've gnashed their teeth at Derm's approach to trails and greenways over the past few years. (Greenway construction was largely put on hold with the re-prioritizing of rec centers over trails in the 2005 bond program; the ATT, for its part, has waited years for this missing link to be funded.)

Not so good news for the Third Fork Creek trail, which has represented another frequently-delayed, start-and-stop construction program. The latest news, from a commenter over at Endangered Durham and confirmed by the Durham Capital Improvements Program web site dividing the trail essentially into a "Phase 1" and new unfunded "Phase 2," is that the segment north of MLK Jr. Parkway that would connect to the ATT is on hold, and the current project bidding is only for the segment south of the parkway. In theory, one can then connect to the ATT via sidewalks and bike lanes on MLK Jr. Parkway, but my guess is that will get a lot less fun once the planned Wal-Mart and Lowe's open up at the corner of MLK Jr. and Fayetteville.

Comments

[durhamfood]

Any idea when Phase E of the ATT is scheduled to be completed?

[Tanner Lovelace]

According to the project page ( http://www.durhamnc.gov/cip/ProjectView.cfm?vAcctNo=292 ) it says Phase E is scheduled to be completed in the second quarter of 2010. I'd take that with a grain of salt, of course, but having the money allocated should go a long ways towards making that actually happen.

[CG]

Does anybody know if the improvements will include restoring or replacing the uncrossable bridge that now effectively terminates the ATT in southern Durham, or will the trail still end there?

[Daniel S.]

I believe the bridge Tanner is asking about is in Chatham County. Here is a (dated) reference: http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/543349.html

Does anyone know what is going on with the Wally World/Lowes on MLK?