City Council passed a resolution accepting up to $350,000 in federal stimulus funding for construction of Phase I of the Cross-City Trail at their April 21 meeting.
The funding will come through the North Carolina Department of Transportation and will provide funding for Phase I of the Cross-City Trail, which will connect Halyburton Park to John D. Barry Road and to the Cameron Art Museum.
A total of $2 million in stimulus funds has been requested for Phase I and II for construction of the trail. Construction on Phase I is expected to begin this summer. The total length of Phase I is 4,500 feet, or about three-quarters of a mile. Stimulus funds will allow the majority of the Cross-City Trail to be constructed much sooner than earlier anticipated, and at a lower cost to the City.
When completed, the Cross-City Trail will be a 10-mile multi-use path through the heart of Wilmington connecting the new James E.L. Wade Park to the Wrightsville Beach drawbridge. The city opened a 1.9‐mile section of the trail in August 2008, which runs along Eastwood Road from Cardinal Drive to Military Cutoff Road.