A $13.5 million sidewalk trail of 2.4 miles is being planned by Cobb County and other governmental entities along the Chattahoochee River.
The Cobb County Board of Commissioners recently approved a Project Concept Report for Chattahoochee River Trail Pedestrian Improvements to develop a pilot project conceptual plan and also the Chattahoochee RiverLands Greenway Study.
Cobb Department of Transportation (DOT) Director Erica Parish said, “The trail will provide unprecedented access to the portion of the river south of I-285, providing the opportunity for the public to see, interact with and experience nature in a new and unique way.”
Cobb County has collaborated with the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), the Trust for Public Land (TPL) and the city of Atlanta to develop a regional river corridor plan for the 100-mile Chattahoochee River corridor.
The Chattahoochee RiverLands Greenway Study document details the final plan.
About that study, Parish said, “The 100-mile Chattahoochee RiverLands Greenway Study is an opportunity to reconsider the region’s relationship to the river and create a new vision for the future that will raise public awareness of the river, improve connections and access, identify potential areas for protection or investment and build on a legacy of ecological conservation and protection.”
This study is the result of a 20-month process, involving exploration, research, community outreach, inter-agency communication, design and documentation.
A 125-mile preferred trail alignment along the Chattahoochee River corridor goes from Buford Dam in Gwinnett County to Chattahoochee Bend State Park in Coweta County, with proposed tributary trails and alignment alternatives.
While it will take decades to be fully completed, short, individual segments and projects will be designed and built piece by piece over the course of time, according to the study.
One of the seven key tasks of the study is development of a pilot site for a multi-use path on Cobb County-owned property between Ga. 139/Mableton Parkway and Ga. 8/US 78/US 278/Veterans Memorial Highway – known as Chattahoochee River Trail Pedestrian Improvements and three demonstration site designs.
In 2018, the federal government provided most of the funding – $1.2 million of the $1.5 million – for master planning and engineering design of the Chattahoochee River Trail.
The 20 percent local match required – or $300,000 – was shared equally by Cobb County, Atlanta and TPL at $100,000 each.
This pilot project includes construction of about 2.4 miles of trails, consisting of 1.7 miles of paved multi-use trail sections and 0.7 miles of unpaved pedestrian-only sections.
The project will be a combination of six-foot-wide paved and unpaved trails for pedestrians and 14-foot-wide paved trails for shared use by pedestrians and bicycles.
The total estimated cost of the project is $12,313,000 which includes preliminary engineering and construction costs.
Information: ChattahoocheeRiverLands.com/downloads
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