The parks bond passed in 2006 included $1 million for bike paths in Wilmington. But while the joint city-county bond that also funded improvements at Empie Park gave the Cross-City Trail a big boost, the timeline for the project jumped forward when stimulus money was announced in 2009, officials say.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act put upward of $1.8 million toward construction of the trail, said Joshuah Mello, associate transportation planner for the City of Wilmington.
Two segments of the trail are expected to open this summer. When complete, the Cross-City trail will run from the James E.L. Wade Park near Waltmoor Road in southeastern Wilmington to the drawbridge at Wrightsville Beach. The multi-use asphalt path will run along major roads like 17th Street, Independence Boulevard, Randall Parkway and Eastwood Road.
One segment of the trail, expected to be done in July, runs along 17th Street between John D. Barry Drive and the Cameron Art Museum. It will connect to trails in Halyburton Park.
The city paid $30,000 of bond money to design the segment while federal stimulus money put $261,000 toward the construction, Mello said.
Another section will start along Randall Parkway and run through Empie Park, before going along Independence Boulevard to Converse Drive.
For this larger, 2.8-mile section, expected to open in August, the city paid $329,000 to design and secure federal permits, Mello said. Stimulus money paid $1,548,000 for the construction.
Funding for work along Randall Parkway has come from several sources, Mello said. The project is slated to go out to bid in the fall and construction could take a couple of years.
The city received a federal earmark in 2004 to widen the road to a four lanes and also install bike lanes and multi-use path.
The federal money won’t cover the entire project so Mello says the city will put $153,000 of bond-money toward the path. The city also received a $75,000 grant from the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources for that section of trail along Randall Parkway.
Date posted: April 30, 2010
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