Oklawaha Greenway - Grand Opening of Phase II 11/14

The City of Hendersonville will celebrate the Grand Opening of Phase II of the Oklawaha Greenway on Saturday November 14th. The event will take place in Patton Park with opening remarks and a ribbon cutting at 10:00 am. The public will then be invited to walk the new greenway as it travels from Patton Park, across the Norfolk Southern Railroad and N. Main Street, and south along Mud Creek to 7th Avenue East. Along the trail ECO volunteers will be available to point out the biodiversity found in that area. The land along the greenway has been designated by the State as a Significant Natural Heritage Area. Phase I of the Oklawaha Greenway continues on 0.75 miles from 7th Avenue East into Jackson Park. As an incentive for people to get out and walk, the first 100 trail users will be given a pedometer.

The new greenway is 1.1 miles in length and paved making it accessible for wheels as well as walkers. Trace & Company of Hendersonville was awarded the contract to build the greenway with construction beginning in May of 2009 and finishing in late October. Paved with an asphalt surface, the greenway is ten feet wide, has a new pedestrian bridge and special drainage features and base materials to anticipate the natural flooding that occurs with Mud Creek.

The Apple Country Greenway Commission has been instrumental in coordinating the
greenway efforts and gaining community support. Phase I, from Jackson Park to 7th Avenue East, opened in 2004. Phase II was built at a cost of $687,472. Of that total, NCDOT Transportation Enhancement Funds contributed $400,000 and the City of Hendersonville paid the remaining $287,472. City Council recently expressed interest in preliminary plans for Phase III of the Oklawaha Greenway that would travel from Patton Park to Berkeley Park.

(For more information on the construction of the greenway, contact Jim Patrick, City Engineer, at 828-697-3000 or jpatrick@cityofhendersonville.org.)