31.5.

It was a mileage marker by the side of the greenway. Having spent last week hiking the Mountains-to-Sea Trail along the Blue Ridge Parkway, I was accustomed to seeing mileage markers in the form of the parkway’s knee-high stone obelisks that tick off every mile. And I have seen them before on greenways, but never with such a high number. Rarely, in fact, in double digits.

The 31.5-mile marker was about 3.5 miles inside the Johnston County line along the Neuse River, on a patch of newly minted greenway that will soon attach to similar greenway making its way downstream from Wake County. Already on the opposite end, originating at the base of Falls dam, 6.46 miles of greenway opened last fall. By the end of next year, another 21.54 miles is scheduled to be done, creating 28 miles of greenway will link with this 3.5-mile stretch to create a 31.5-mile dedicated, paved, pedestrian passage, the longest in the state.

This lower stretch is the most recent to open. In total, it’s 3.6 miles. That includes the 1.2-mile Sam’s Branch Greenway, with runs from a gravel parking lot off N. O’Neal Street in Clayton to the Neuse. There, the greenway turns upstream and runs 2.4 miles, crossing the Neuse, going under Covered Bridge Road (where there’s also parking and trail access) and heading up to Marks Creek. There, a nearly complete bridge will make the remaining 1.4-mile connection up to the Wake County line. The 31.5-mile stretch will be part of the statewide Mountains-to-Sea Trail.

As it is, the just-completed greenway makes for a nice bike ride with the kids or a nice 7.2-mile (out-and-back) walk or training run.

Our two-minute tour (above) gives a sense of the experience. Enjoy.

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Clayton/Johnston County Greenway

View Clayton Greenway in a larger map

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The post 3.6-mile stretch of Johnston County Greenway opens appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

To follow along with the trails mentioned below, download a copy of the Raleigh greenway map here.

The first 8 miles of the the Neuse Greenway Trail is all but 20-feet finished.

That’s the official word this morning from Raleigh Senior Greenway Planner Vic Lebsock. Officially, there’s only 20 feet left to finish, on a boardwalk a little over two miles south of the northern trailhead (off the old Falls of Neuse Road). A stretch under Capital Boulevard and greenway under the new Falls of Neuse Road — both of which were under construction a month ago — have been completed, Lebsock said. That means you could start from the southern trailhead, at the WRAL/CASL Soccer Complex off Perry Creek Road between Capital Boulevard and Louisburg Road, and travel unencumbered six miles upstream.

Lebsock couldn’t say when the 20-foot gap would be finished. He could say, “We hope to have the official ribbon cutting in November.” He also could say that while the trail officially isn’t open, there sure are a lot of people have discovered the greenway and are using it.

While the 20-foot-gap issue gets resolved, construction on most of the rest of the Neuse Greenway Trail should get underway within the next two weeks. Lebsock says construction should begin from Horseshoe Creek Farm (just across the Neuse River from where the aforementioned 8-mile stretch ends) south to near the Heddingham neighborhood, and from Anderson Point south to the Johnston County Line. Two remaining mile-long stretches are expected to go to bid by January.

Lebsock says the entire 28-mile Neuse Greenway Trail — from Falls of Neuse dam south to the Johnston County line — remains on target to be finished by the end of 2012.

“We’re right on schedule,” says Lebsock

In other Raleigh greenway news:

House Creek Greenway. This much-anticipated 2.9-mile greenway will connect the city’s Reedy Creek Greenway on the west with the 11-mile-long Crabtree Creek Greenway to the east. Lebsock says construction continues all along this stretch, which essentially parallels Raleigh’s Beltline (I-440). He said “unforeseen construction problems” have delayed reopening of Glen Eden Road, under which a pedestrian tunnel has been built (the tunnel, in addition to a tunnel under Lake Boone Trail, are both finished), and work continues on a connector greenway extending from Ridge Road that links into House Creek and the Reedy Creek greenways just east of the pedestrian bridge over the Beltline.

That connector plays a key role in a seemingly unrelated greenway two miles to the west. There, a  greenway less than a mile long has been built along Edwards Mill Road by the N.C. Department of Transportation linking the Reedy Creek Trail with the RBC Center. As part of the House Creek project, the gates on the pedestrian bridge over the Beltline will be removed. Those gates are locked at night to prevent access to the Meredith College campus, through which the southeastern portion of the Reedy Creek Greenway passes (a new gate will be built in the pedestrian tunnel under Wade Avenue, through which the Reedy Creek Greenway passes). Using street connectors and greenways, it will be possible for people living inside the Beltline to take the greenway to Carolina Hurricanes games and other evening events at the RBC Center.

Lebsock says the entire House Creek project should be finished by March 2012.

Crabtree Creek Greenway extension to the Neuse River. Currently, the 11-mile greenway follows its namesake creek from near Duraleigh Road downstream to Milburnie Road. This four-mile project would link the Milburnie end with the Neuse River and Neuse Greenway Trail. Lebsock says stretch will likely go to bid in January or February, with completion targeted for the second quarter of 2013. (On the northwest end, the Crabtree Creek Greenway eventually will run to Umstead State Park and hook into the park’s 18-mile bike and bridle trail network.

Walnut Creek Greenway to New Hope Road. The Walnut Creek Greenway currently runs along the south side of Raleigh, from Lake Wheeler Road east to Worthdale Park. Eventually, greenway to be built through N.C. State’s Centennial Campus will link it with the Lake Johnson Greenway to the west. To the east, four miles remain before the Walnut Creek Greenway taps into the emerging Neuse Greenway Trail. Two of those miles, from Worthdale Park to South New Hope Road, will go out to bid in 30 to 60 days, according to Lebsock. That stretch should open by the end of 2012. Funding for the remaining two miles, from South New Hope to the Neuse, rests in the fate of a $40 million transportation bond that goes before Raleigh voters Oct. 11.

Honeycutt Creek Greenway: The 6-mile Honeycutt Creek Greenway will run from Strickland Road to Falls Lake, where it will connect with the Mountains-to-Sea Trail. Lebsock says a few final approvals and permits are needed for this trail, but that it should go to bid shortly and construction should begin in January. It is expected to be finished by the end of 2012.

The post First 8 miles of Neuse Trail 20 feet from ‘officially’ opening appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Monday — never an easy time for the outdoors enthusiast, especially come summer. After a weekend of adventure, returning to the humdrum work-a-day world can make one melancholy. 
To help ease this trying transition, we’re running a new feature every Monday, at least during the summer, called 90 Second Escape. Essentially, it’s a 90-second video of a place you’d probably rather be: a trail, a park, a greenway, a lake … anywhere as long as it’s in the sun.

Today’s 90-Second Escape: Exploring the first 8 miles of Raleigh’s Neuse River Greenway.

Friday, we updated you on the first 8-mile stretch of the Neuse River Greenway. Today, we take you for a ride.

The post 90 Second Escape: Neuse River Greenway appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

Depending upon how adventurous you are, the first 8-mile installment of the Neuse River Greenway is open.

Based on a scouting expedition yesterday, roughly 7.9 miles of the Raleigh greenway, which eventually will run the length of the Neuse in Wake County, are finished. That tenth of a mile that’s not technically opened is over two short stretches. The first comes 2.6 miles from the northern trailhead at Falls of Neuse Road just below Falls Dam. There, a boardwalk is under construction: the footings and supports are in, the decking being screwed down. Although the area beneath appeared wet, tracks to the side of the structure suggested it had been bypassed by cyclists and travelers afoot.

An eighth of a mile farther south, a stretch under Capital Boulevard was also under construction. Heavy equipment, which was busy at work, made passage impossible.

A 50-yard stretch of the greenway under the new Falls of Neuse Road bridge is yet to be finished as well, pending completion of the above bridge, but is passible.

Thus, if you want a sneak peek of the new greenway this weekend without having to dodge construction, your best bets are the 2.6-mile stretch from the northern trailhead south and the 3.1-mile stretch north from the southern trailhead at the WRAL/CASL soccer complex off Perry Creek Road between Capital Boulevard and U.S. 401.

The southern end of the trail is especially unique for Triangle greenway, with isolated stretches through mature bottomland hardwoods. A nice treat comes midway on that stretch at an area marked as “River Access.” A short spur leads to a bench overlooking a bend in the river; below is a small, partially shaded sand beach dissolving into an especially clear stretch of the Neuse.

Overall, this down payment on the Neuse River Greenway promises the best long-distance romp on paved greenway in the Triangle. The trail is well marked: at the various neighborhood spurs, as well as the intersection with Abbotts Creek Trail, “street” signs make it clear which way to go. It’s got nice flow: It avoids the constant and often gratuitous swerves that are a trademark of older greenways in favor of trail that better works with the landscape. And it goes on and on and on: you’ll never have to deal with traffic.

Eventually, the Neuse River Greenway will go 28 miles, from Falls Dam to the Johnston County line. (And when it reaches Johnston County, it will meet five more miles of downstream greenway now under construction.) The entire trail is expected to be finished in 2013.

Easiest access at this point: The expanded and paved canoe access below Falls dam off Falls of Neuse Road (beware: the turn-in, just downstream of the old Falls of Neuse bridge, isn’t marked yet and traffic can be heavy), and at the WRAL/CASL soccer complex off Perry Creek Road between Capital Boulevard and U.S. 401 (trailhead is off the gravel lot near the fields closest to the river). Use the accompanying map for reference.

Come back to GetGoingNC.com Monday when we’ll take you on a 90 Second Escape video tour down the southern section of the new greenway.

View Upper Neuse River Greenway (Phase I) in a larger map

The post Neuse greenway is oh-so-close appeared first on GetGoing NC!.

“It should be done by this time next year, if not sooner,” Bob Mosher with the NC Department of Transportation’s Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian Safety said Thursday.

“It” is a four-mile stretch of greenway now under construction that starts at the Wake County line near Mial Plantation Road and extends downstream into Johnston County. There, it will meet with another greenway nearing completion, the 1.25-mile Sam’s Branch Greenway which runs into Clayton.

Provided the Neuse River Greenway is completed on schedule in spring 2013, the combined greenway would run about 33 miles continuous miles, from the base of Falls Lake dam to Clayton. It would be the longest continuous paved greenway in the state and would require no street crossings.

The $3 million project is being funded about half and half by funds former Rep. Bob Etheridge had earmarked for the project in 2006 and those from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,  a k a the “stimulus package.” Because the project had been designed and was ready for construction — a condition of projects qualifying for stimulus money — it’s coming out of the ground much sooner than expected.

The 4-mile stretch will require only one major bridge across the Neuse, about 200 yards below Mial Plantation Road. (Three smaller bridges over tributaries are also needed.) Otherwise, Mosher says, it’s a pretty straight-forward project.

Upstream, Raleigh is currently building the 28-mile Neuse River Greenway. The greenway is being built in phases. The first phase, 8 miles from the dam downstream to the WRAL Soccer Complex, is expected to be completed in September. The last phase to be built is the southernmost, the section that will link to the Johnston Country stretch. That section is scheduled to be completed in spring 2013.

In Clayton, meanwhile, construction is wrapping up on the 1.25-mile Sam’s Branch Greenway.

“It’s close,” Larry Bailey, director of parks and recreation for Clayton said Thursday. “We’re waiting for a couple bridges and trailhead access.”

The trail runs from its namesake creek at O’Neil Road downstream to the Neuse, where it will meet the aforementioned four-mile stretch. Bailey said the prefab bridges are being shipped from Florida and will be installed soon. Initially, trailhead parking will be in a gravel lot a couple hundred yards downstream from O’Neil Road. Bailey said the plan is to eventually have a paved lot. Eventually, too, the greenway will continue upstream a mile or so to Clayton’s Legend Park.

The new trail along the Neuse is part of the statewide Mountains-to-Sea Trail, a work-in-progress that eventually connect Clingman’s Dome on the North Carolina/Tennessee border with Jockey’s Ridge at the coast. About half of that 1,000-mile trail is complete. Through the Triangle, the MST will run along the Eno River from Hillsborough through Durham County to Falls Lake, then along the south side of Falls Lake to the Neuse River, where it will head downstream to the coast.

The stretch from Hillsborough to Clayton is about 115 miles. Currently about 75 miles of that is done. By the time Raleigh’s Neuse River Greenway meets the Johnston Country trail, the entire passage should be complete.

For the latest on the Mountains-to-Sea Trail through the Triangle, visit our sister site, NCHikes.com.

Photo at top: A crane sets up below Mial Plantation Road in Johnston County to hoist a pedestrian bridge over the Neuse River.

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Emerging Johnston County Greenway

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