Community celebrates groundbreaking of first 6-mile stretch of Ecusta Trail
On Oct. 28 at the Veterans Healing Farm in Hendersonville, residents cheered as county leaders and supporters of the Ecusta Trail officially broke ground on the trail's first six-mile stretch, which is located adjacent to the Veterans Healing Farm.
“The dream has become a reality,” said Henderson County Board Chairman Rebecca McCall in a news release. “To be able to move dirt and start construction on the first phase of the trail is the culmination of many years of hard work by so many people.”
The Ecusta Trail, when fully completed, will be a 19-mile multi-use greenway that connects the communities of Henderson County to the city of Brevard. The first six-mile stretch of the trail will start in downtown Hendersonville, go through the town of Laurel Park and end at Battle Creek off U.S. 64 in Horse Shoe. The second phase in Henderson County is in the planning stages, and that will take the trail to the Transylvania County line, the release said.
"We are so excited to be making this dream real,” said Kieran Roe, executive director ofConserving Carolina, in the release. “A project of this scale takes a huge amount of effort and investment and could easily seem beyond reach. But our community made it happen — from thegrassroots advocates to the dedicated volunteers to the many generous donors. As we celebrate this milestone for the trail, we are celebrating the vision and generosity of this community."
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According to the release, Friends of the Ecusta Trail, a grassroots volunteer group, has championed the vision of the Ecusta Trail since 2009. In 2021, a subsidiary of Conserving Carolina purchased the rail corridor and then worked with Friends of the Ecusta Trail to raise funds for construction.
Local businesses and individuals gave millions of dollars, making it possible to match major grants, including two large federal grants awarded in the summer of 2023. The final phase in fundraising for the trail is to raise money for amenities so the public can access and enjoy the trail, the release said. This includes things like trailheads, restrooms, benches, and signage. This fundraising effort is being led by the Friends of the Ecusta Trail.
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“Today’s groundbreaking for the first section of the Ecusta Trail is the culmination of nearly 15 years of advocacy by the Friends of Ecusta Trail," said Mark Tooley, who is president of the Friends of Ecusta Trail. “What started as a dream and a vision for repurposing the unused rail corridor as a community asset, has now come to fruition. I want to especially thank past and present Friends of Ecusta Trail board members for their unwavering determination to get us to this historic event today and to all the volunteers and donors who have provided support and encouragement along the way.
In the end, the partnership of federal, state, and local governments, nongovernmental organizations and nonprofits, all striving for the same goal, was the secret sauce that made all of this possible."
Major funding came from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the State of North Carolina, Henderson County Tourism and Development Authority, Transylvania County Tourism and Development Authority, and private donors. Leading local government partners include Henderson County and the City of Brevard. Major donors are recognized at conservingcarolina.org/ecusta-trail-donors/.
Construction of the first six-mile stretch is expected to be completed in one year. Completion of the entire trail is expected to take 3-5 years.
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Groundbreaking held for Hendersonville's first part of Ecusta Trail
