(The following story by Eric Smith appeared on The Daily News website on August 13, 2009.)
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Shelby County Mayor A C Wharton Jr. was all smiles Wednesday afternoon as he signed the paperwork transferring the old CSX railroad line from the railroad to the county.
The county will now transform the corridor into a 7-mile multiuse trail that extends from the Poplar-Union avenues viaduct in the west to Farm and Mullins Station roads and Shelby Farms Park to the east.
“This is one of the greatest moments – and this is not hyperbole – in the history of the city and the county,” Wharton said.
Wharton touted the “rails to trails” project for bringing communities together and for promoting and protecting area greenspaces. He also said the trail – designed for “bikes, shoes, baby strollers and skates” – would “get us off our sofas and out of our cars,” helping county residents become healthier and more active.
Construction is slated to begin in the fall and a basic version of the trail will be open by the end of December, said Ted Fox, director of the division of public works. The finished product, including the final asphalting, will be unveiled in the spring and will serve as a key component of the Greater Memphis Greenline.
Wharton said community input was integral to the process, including concerns about crime from neighbors whose properties abut the trail. The mayor insisted that safety would be a priority when developing and maintaining the trail.
The $5 million price tag includes a $500,000 reduction because of work the county must perform to upgrade about a dozen bridges along the trail, most notably the one that crosses the Wolf River at the edge of Shelby Farms.
The county in spring approved the trail project and also accepted a $4.7 million grant from Shelby Farms Park Conservancy, which will manage the trail. Shelby County government is putting up $375,000, to be used for leveraging another $1.5 million in federal funds.
“We don’t view this as an expenditure,” Wharton said. “It’s an investment in our health and environment.”