Gastonia wants to expand greenway system with bridge

Gastonia will solicit state support to obtain another key piece in expanding its growing network of walking and biking trails.

Within the next two years, the city will have a long-awaited greenway connection to Rankin Lake Park. And after that, officials envision constructing a bridge over Long Creek that will provide passage north to Gaston College and more.

“Eventually, if we want to connect in that direction, we’ll need that bridge,” said Gastonia Parks and Recreation Director Chuck Dellinger.

One of the biggest boosts to that would come from securing a grant through the Recreational Trails Program. It involves federal money that flows through the state, and is divvied out to counties competitively through North Carolina’s Division of Parks and Recreation.

The city this month will take the first step toward applying for that grant, with hopes of making it into the second round for a follow-up application in June.

Building the bridge over Long Creek would likely cost $150,000 to $200,000, and the grant would likely foot the bill for anywhere from 50 percent to 100 percent of that, Dellinger said.

The city’s Highland Rail Trail currently begins at the Gastonia Police Department and winds northwest, ending near Interstate 85. But as part of the major redevelopment of the I-85/U.S. 321 interchange that is underway, a new greenway extension is being built that will carry walkers and bikers safely around that busy area. It will meander through the wooded area past Bulb Avenue, then run parallel to Long Creek where it ducks under U.S. 321, bringing people into the northern boundary of Rankin Lake Park.

Dellinger said the city long ago began thinking about how to take the greenway to the next level. From their own end, Gaston County recreation leaders are in the process of designing a greenway system that will link Gaston College and the Gastonia Technology Park with Dallas Park off of Dallas-Cherryville Highway. The bridge will tie those two walking trail systems together.

When complete, it will give Gastonia about 10 miles of connectivity that cyclists and pedestrians can use to get from Lineberger Park to Rankin Lake Park and points north, using a combination of greenways and enhanced sidewalks.

Dellinger foresees it being something that would benefit Gaston College students in visiting Rankin Lake Park, which was once an afterthought but has become popular since being redeveloped about five years ago.

“If you’ve got a couple of hours in between classes or you want to park and bike to class, it will open up a whole new avenue,” he said.

You can reach Michael Barrett at 704-869-1826 or on Twitter @GazetteMike.