Popular Tybee rails-to-trails path to reopen. Here's why accessing the trail will be harder

The McQueen's Island Trail is finally ready to reopen, but many users of the popular railway bed turned walking and biking path will find their preferred access point closed.

After nearly six years of repairs to restore the hurricane-battered trail, the first two miles will officially open to the public in the next few weeks. However, recent updates suggest that the trail's midpoint entrance, located along U.S. 80 near the Bull River, will be permanently closed.

Before the trail's closure, the unpaved area served as an alternative access point from the Fort Pulaski Road entrance. The area was a frequent site of car crashes, with would-be trail users coming from the west crossing traffic to access the parking site and those leaving the trail having to pull out into free-flowing traffic typically traveling at speeds in excess of 45 mph.

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The midpoint entrance's imminent closure means Fort Pulaski Road will become the sole entrance point. The current parking situation there is first-come, first-served on an unmarked dirt lot. Chatham County's Parks and Recreation Deputy Director, Holly Holdsworth, said there are no current plans to construct a paved lot at that entranceway yet.

The midpoint is currently being used as a staging area for construction equipment. Once the county's contractor is finished with their work, Environmental Program Manager Jefferson Kirkland said the county will notify the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT), which has jurisdiction over the U.S. 80 highway and its right-of-ways.

According to Kirkland, GDOT has stated that they will no longer allow Chatham County to operate the midpoint parking area and that they have plans to install barricades in the vicinity.

As of press time, GDOT officials had not responded to calls seeking comment.

The years-long reconstruction of the pathway has been an up-trail battle, according to Holdsworth. On the northern side of the trail flows the Savannah River, and on the southern side lies marshland. Contractors were relegated to working during low tide while combating constant tidal erosion and waiting on the proper permits required for the environmentally sensitive area.

After three change orders and multiple extensions to the project deadline, eager hikers will finally get to reap part of the $2.5 million in total repairs. Holdsworth said the department is knocking out a shortlist of final tasks before the long-awaited reopening.

“The trail hasn’t really been touched for six years so there’s quite a bit of vegetation growth, so we’ve got a contractor starting out this week doing a bit of trimming back of the trail,” said Holdsworth.

According to a National Parks Service spokesperson at Fort Pulaski, people have already begun walking the first mile and a half of the route.

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The trail will most likely open in iterations so that the public can enjoy one of Chatham County’s beloved greenspaces without having to wait too long, said Holdsworth, who notes that there’s no definitive timeline yet for the rest of the four-mile stretch.

“It will require constant maintenance … but according to the engineers, they’ve designed and planned the best possible options for that trail and it should withstand all but the worst possible acts of nature,” said Holdsworth. “It’s one of the few greenspace parks and trail systems that we have, so the hope is that mother nature doesn’t decide that it doesn’t need to be there.”

Read more: Plans to replace Tybee Island's Lazaretto Creek Bridge and Bull River Bridge gain traction

GDOT has planned separate improvements for the six-mile stretch of the U.S. 80 roadway that parallels the trail. Those improvements, slated to begin next year, include replacement of the Bull River and Lazaretto Creek bridges and widening of the road.

The improvements are meant to ease congestion and enhance safety. The crash rate, according to a U.S. 80 Bridges Study, is 25% higher on that highway than the statewide rate for comparable roadways. State data shows 86 crashes occurred between 2006 to 2009.

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Connectivity is also a key goal as currently the two-lane highway and its two connector bridges currently offer little breathing room, save for intermittent striped medians on the causeway. Plans for a wider profile include adding a separate pedestrian and bike lane, which can also be used for emergency vehicles.

The changes are in line with the Metropolitan Planning Committee’s long-range plans of making Tybee Island fully accessible to the mainland for pedestrians and cyclists.

Nancy Guan is the general assignment reporter covering Chatham County municipalities. Reach her at nguan@gannett.com or on Twitter @nancyguann.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Chatham County McQueen's Island Trailhead updates