Overview

The American Tobacco Trail – Chatham County Project consists of the construction of a 4.68 mile multi-use trail located between the Wake County and Durham County segments of the American Tobacco Trail. This project will complete the missing section of the trail, which will provide approximately 23 miles of continuous trail in Wake, Chatham and Durham counties. The Town of Cary is administering the construction of the project.

Details

The 4.68-mile long trail will be constructed with two typical sections as follows:

• Beginning at the Wake-Chatham County line and continuing to the south side of New Hope Church Road, the first section of the trail shall consist of a 12-foot wide granite screenings surface.
• The second section of the trail shall consist of a 10-foot wide asphalt surface and an adjacent 6-foot wide granite screenings surface from the north side of New Hope Church Road to the terminus of the project at the Chatham-Durham County line.
• The project also includes the renovation of two wooden bridge structures, 157 and 170 feet long.

Schedule

The project will be constructed in four phases. (See map).

Phase #1: Wake–Chatham County line to New Hope Church Road
Phase #2: New Hope Church Road to Pittard Sears Road
Phase #3: Pittard Sears Road to O’Kelly Chapel Road
Phase #4: O’Kelly Chapel Road to the Chatham-Durham County line.

Construction begins – September 2008
Construction complete - November 2009

Background

Since 2005, the Town of Cary has met regularly with the NC Department of Transportation, Wake County, Chatham County and the Town of Apex regarding the development of the American Tobacco Trail (ATT).  The ATT is a recreational rail-trail located on an abandoned railroad corridor of the Norfolk Southern Railroad. When completed, the ATT will be a 23-mile long multi-use trail that will traverse urban, suburban, and rural landscapes in route from downtown Durham, at the site of the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, to New Hill Road in western Wake County.

To date, Durham has completed nine miles of the ATT.  It will ultimately extend from the Durham Bulls Stadium to the Durham/Chatham County line, a distance of 12 miles.  Wake County has completed its entire 6.5 mile section of the ATT including 3 trailheads, which extends from the Wake/Chatham County line south to New-Hill Olive Chapel Road.  

This project represents the remaining segment to be completed, which is the 4.68-mile central segment of the ATT, located entirely in Chatham County. The trail is to extend from the Durham/Chatham County line south to the Wake/Chatham county line.

Budget

Holmes Contracting, Inc. has been awarded the ATT construction contract for $1,566,481.00.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation shall reimburse the Town of Cary for 100 percent of the costs for construction and construction administration for this project.

Contact

Joe Godfrey, RLA
Senior Parks Planner
Parks Recreation and Cultural Resources Department
Town of Cary
(919) 462-3863
joe.godfrey@townofcary.org