Part of a long-awaited greenway trail opens in Raleigh. When will the rest be done?

A section of greenway trail opened in North Raleigh late this summer, part of a long-anticipated link between William B. Umstead State Park and the rest of the city’s greenway system.

But that connection remains unfinished, and the city can’t say when it will open.

City officials say the delay in completing the Crabtree Creek West Trail is tied to a suspension bridge that will carry it over the creek just downstream of Duraleigh Road.

Because the project is partly financed with a federal grant, the city must use American-made steel, as required by the Build America, Buy America provision of the infrastructure bill Congress passed in late 2021. The steel is on back order, said city spokeswoman Julia Milstead.

“Currently, there are significant lead times for the American-made steel needed for the suspension bridge’s cable system, delaying the bridge’s construction,” Milstead wrote in an email.

The federal grant covers about $1.55 million of the $11 million project.

The unfunished bridge means the city can’t complete two-thirds of a mile of trail between Duraleigh Road and Lindsay Drive. City officials are exploring options for speeding up completion of the bridge, said spokeswoman Tiffanie Mazanek, who said she could not elaborate.

When the final leg opens, the Crabtree Creek Greenway Trail will stretch more than 16 miles across Raleigh from Umstead to the Neuse River Trail. It’s the final piece of a greenway system along the Neuse and Crabtree and Walnut creeks outlined in the Capital Area Greenway System plan from 1976.

Part of the trail opened in July

The final section of the Crabtree Creek trail posed a challenge because the creek flows through a stone quarry operation. Former Wake County Commissioner Sig Hutchinson, a longtime advocate for trails, referred to the missing link as the “holy grail,” because it would make it possible to ride on off-road trails from Durham to Johnston County.

The city made a deal with the quarry’s owner, Hanson Aggregates, in 2014 that allowed the quarry to continue operating but also provided an easement for the trail across a wooded part of Hanson’s property.

To avoid the quarry itself, the trail follows a section of Richland Creek, then climbs an elaborate, partially-elevated switchback to Duraleigh Road.

That section opened at the end of July.

From there, the trail runs beside Duraleigh, behind a white fence, back downhill toward Crabtree Creek, where it now ends. Still to come is the segment under Duraleigh Road to Lindsay Drive, where it will pick up the existing trail.

At Umstead, the trail passes under Ebenezer Church Road to connect with the South Turkey Creek Trail. A new 56-space parking lot off Ebenezer Church means people no longer have to park along the road to access trails in the park.

John Millsaps is happy for the parking. Millsaps rides his bike a couple of times a week and has tried the new section of Crabtree Creek Trail, as far as it goes.

“The new switchbacks are fun,” he said after a ride Friday. “But I would be a lot more likely to use it if it was connected.”

Ritu Chandak found the trail’s abrupt end at Duraleigh confusing. Chandak and a friend hurried across the road, even though there’s no crosswalk, only to turn back when they couldn’t figure out where to go.

“I was going to look at the map to see if the trail continues,” she said as she headed back to the parking lot.

But Chandak, who lives within walking distance of the trail, will be a regular.

“The shade. The nature sounds. The creek sounds,” she said. “It’s just so peaceful.”