CHARLOTTE, N.C. — New additions to the Carolina Thread Trail are on the way thanks to a series of new grants to expand its network of Charlotte-area walkways.
In all, $634,00 was awarded to seven partners to expand existing trails and blueways and to build new ones.
The grants were awarded by Carolina Thread Trail to the cities of Concord, Conover, Shelby and Lowell, as well as the town of McAdenville, the Cleveland County Water Commission and Gaston County Parks and Recreation.
The Thread Trail already spans 350 miles of trails and greenways and over 170 miles of blueways, also known as water trails.
Carolina Thread Trail has announced the following projects the funds will go towards:
- City of Concord: $70,000 to support upgrades for and to extend the Caldwell Park section of the Irish Buffalo Creek Greenway
- City of Conover: $40,000 to look into a connection between the Gateway Park Greenway to downtown Hickory
- Cleveland County Water Commission: $125,000 to build a segment of the Stagecoach Greenway along the First Broad River in Lawndale
- City of Shelby: $30,000 to create a plan for a 4.7-mile trail from Grover St. to the Cleveland County Community College Campus
- Gaston County Parks and Recreation: $92,375 to construct three sections of trail totaling 1.3 miles through George Poston Park from the South Fork River to the base of Spencer Mountain
- City of Lowell: $127,080 to build a trail from George Poston Park south through the future Lowell River Park, and the River Heights neighborhood to connect with sidewalks on North Main Street
- Town of McAdenville: $150,000 to build a section of River Link Trail to meet the Town of Cramerton's trail project and connect the two towns
The Thread Trail has already given out over $8 million in grants over the past 11 years to the region surrounding Charlotte in both North and South Carolina.
The trail's master plan is to build a network of over 1,600 miles of trail in a 15-county region. It is over 1,250 miles from reaching that goal.