Henderson County Rail Trail Advisory Committee November 8, 2023

Chuck McGrady (Chair) began this meeting by noting the great work of Hendersonville and Henderson County staff in the planning and execution of the Ecusta Trail (ET) groundbreaking event held late October at the Veterans Healing Farm, captured in this video. A large crowd of trail supporters and stakeholders influential in the long effort to bring the ET to the edge of construction watched the ritual of shoveled dirt signifying the start of construction. All Henderson County Commissioners attended along with Mayor Copelof and city staff from Brevard. 

Of special note, Henderson Commissioners approved the contract for construction of the trail. Awarded to NHM Constructors at a cost of $10,629,359.  Marcus Jones (Henderson County Engineer) commented that staff from NHM have been cooperative during the complex bureaucratic machinations related to the various funding sources, each source with its own rules and expectations. These funds should be approved at the next NC Board of Transportation meeting on November 15.  With funds released, NHM will begin installation of drainage control and track clearing necessary to prep the trail for paving. Initial paving may begin Spring of 2024 and Mr. Jones anticipated a finish date for this first section of the ET (termed Ecusta East) by the end of 2024.

In addition, progress moves rapidly toward construction of the next 5 miles of trail, now called Ecusta West, as shared by Jones and Autumn Radcliff (Henderson Planning). The Henderson Board of Commissioners (BOC) has approved the selection of Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson, Inc. (JMT) to perform preliminary engineering of this section. The BOC also approved an agreement with the NC Department of Transportation (NC DOT) to allow Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) money for this purpose, and it is expected the Board of Transportation will pass a final approval in December 2023. If so, JMT will begin Preliminary Engineering (PE) in January 2024. The expected completion time of PE for Ecusta West is approximately 18 months, after which bidding will begin for construction of this final Henderson section. Potentially building of the Ecusta West section will coincide with the start of ET construction in Transylvania County. 

The NC DOT has forwarded a list of trail amenities to the Federal Highways Administration requesting approval for grant funds to pay for trailside convenience such as trash bins, parking, restrooms, bike racks, water fountains, benches and trail signage. Stakeholders and grant requestors did not anticipate that grant funds would pay for such items. 

Next meeting of this group is to be determined later, possibly skipping the regular December meeting (12/13) and re-convening January 10, 2024.