Spartanburg County Trails: Council backs $1.8M request to finish 2 projects, start third
Spartanburg County Council has approved a request for up to $1.8 million in budgeted funds to complete two trail projects. It also approved a third multi-use trail that connects to Spartanburg’s 55-mile urban trail system called The Dan.
Laura Ringo, executive director of Play, Advocate and Live Well (PAL) of Spartanburg, asked the council to provide $300,657 from the county's trails fund to complete a section that connects the Drayton and Beaumont mill villages, nearly a half-mile from Lawson's Fork Creek.
The $300,000 will be added to $175,000 in Mary Black Foundation grant funds for a total of $475,657, the amount quoted by Roebuck Landscaping to complete the section, she said.
Ned Barrett, trail development manager for PAL, said work on the Beaumont Trail will start this fall.
"The canopied underpass is complete except for a final detail that will be finished this month," Barrett said.
The trail climbs a steep slope requiring "significant portions" of retaining wall to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Ringo said.
The trails bank is a county fund with $2.3 million in revenues primarily from the hospitality tax that is used to leverage federal and state funds and private grants for trails projects.
Ringo said since the trails bank is already funded, there is no new cost to the county.
Canopied trail section at bottom of Drayton Trail nears completion
Ringo also said $20,000 is needed to finish the fencing along a canopied trail section under the Norfolk Southern trestle at the bottom of the Drayton Trail, Ringo said. Once the fencing is completed, this will close out the project with Norfolk Southern so the trail can open to the public, she said.
To date, PAL has spent $714,000 on the canopied trail, with $203,000 coming from the trails bank and the remainder from private sources, she said.
15-mile RAISE Trail planned along Fairforest Creek
Finally, Ringo asked for up to $1.5 million for preconstruction activities for the planned 15-mile RAISE Trail route along the Fairforest Creek starting at Mayfair Lofts on the northern end to C.C. Woodson Recreation Center on the southern end.
Preconstruction activities include engineering, surveying, title searches on 56 properties and the execution of easements.
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There is also an extension planned to the Spartanburg Memorial Airport and across highway 295 to R.P. Dawkins Middle School.
The U.S. Department of Transportation in November 2021 awarded Spartanburg County a $23.8 million RAISE grant (Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity).
The project will include a 10-foot wide asphalt multi-use pathway, a pedestrian bridge over Highway 295, five pre-fabricated pedestrian bridges, wayfinding signs. and crossing improvements at Powell Mill Road, U.S. 29/W.O. Ezell Boulevard, John B. White and U.S. 221/Church Street.
Preconstruction work will begin on the RAISE trail this winter, with construction set to begin in the fall of 2024, he said. Work is projected to be finished by September 2029.
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More Spartanburg County trail projects in the works
Last year, County Council backed two requests to complete the 2.55-mile Anderson Mill Road/Old Georgia Road path, as well as the 8-mile Wadsworth Trail that connects a dozen neighborhoods to the North Tyger River and the restored Anderson Mill.
This past July, Spartanburg area lawmakers obtained a $5 million state budget earmark for the 31-mile Saluda Grade Trail project, which will allow three nonprofits to purchase the 16-mile South Carolina portion of the former Norfolk Southern rail line.
The line will be converted to trails connecting Inman, Campobello and Landrum in northern Spartanburg County to the North Carolina towns of Saluda, Tryon and Zirconia in Henderson County.
Contact Bob Montgomery at bob.montgomery@shj.com. Please support our coverage of Spartanburg County with a digital subscription.
This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Spartanburg County Council backs $1.8M request for trail projects
