The good news: The long-awaited promise of being able to take a greenway from near downtown Raleigh to the heart of downtown Durham came a step closer to reality last week with the unofficial opening of the 4.6-mile Chatham County section of the American Tobacco Trail. It’s now possible to walk/run/bike/equestriate for 13.8 miles on the ATT south of I-40. The trail resumes on the north side of I-40, running from NC 54 north for 6.7 miles into downtown Durham. The only remaining stretch left on the ATT: about a mile and a half bridging the two sections, including a pedestrian bridge over I-40.

The not-so-good news: The greenway that will connect into the ATT and run into the heart of Raleigh will lose a vital stretch of popular greenway in two weeks. According to Cary’s greenway braintrust, a stretch of the White Oak Greenway between NC 55 and Green Level Church Road, will close March 1 to accommodate construction of the Triangle Expressway.

The even worse news: The greenway will be closed for two years.

Two years?

“It’s a big overpass,” says Joe Godfrey, a Cary parks planner whose primary duty involves overseeing the town’s growing greenway network. Cary has 58 miles of greenway in place, another 17 miles “in the works.” Under the current master plan (which is about to undergo revision), the town will build 185 miles of greenway.

The stretch of White Oak affected is one of the most scenic greenways in the Triangle, cutting through, and climbing above a wetland well-insulated from surrounding development. It’s only been open a couple years. With a small interruption near Davis Drive, the White Oak Greenway runs from Green Level Church Road east to Fred Bond Park. There, it connects with the Black Creek Greenway, which runs northeast to Lake Crabtree, where it connects with bike & bridle trail in Umstead Park, which connects with greenway that runs to the N.C. Museum of Art, across I-440 to Meredith College then, with sidewalk connectors, to N.C. State University and on to southeast Raleigh.

Godfrey and other Cary officials have been working with the N.C. Turnpike Authority, which is building the Triangle Expressway, to accommodate five planned crossings of the expressway by proposed Cary greenways. White Oak is the only one of those greeways that currently exists.

The Triangle Expressway is an 18.8-mile toll road that will be a continuation of I-540 on the south side of the Triangle.

Back to good news: Also in March, the Black Creek Greenway will take a step toward completion. Currently, the greenway runs east a short distance from Fred Bond Park, then endures a 1.3-mile interruption before resuming at Chapel Hill Road and running 3.8 miles to Lake Crabtree. Godfrey says that 1.3-mile missing link — which runs from near High House Road and Maynard northeast to Chapel Hill Road — will begin construction in March and should take 10 months to complete.

For more Triangle greenway news come back Tuesday for an update on the Neuse River Greenway, which will run from Falls Lake dam south to the Johnston County line.