The Tennessee Central Trail board is seeking a new project engineer as they add some 400 feet of connector trail to link the West End neighborhood to Cane Creek Park.
Tennessee Central Trail Authority board member Grover Bennett Jr. said the project involves creating a path for bikers and hikers to establish a continuous trail from Algood to the park. Bennett said the short connection will provide a big return on investment.
“Connectivity,” Bennett said. “You know, that way you can go further and explore more of Cookeville and, you know, versus right now, the actual trail runs from the city of Algood’s Community center to the depot in Cookeville.”
Bennett said the connection will go by the Cookeville sewer pump station across the railroad tracks and go up the hill to West Jackson street across from Cane Creek Elementary School.
“We think if we can get a good trail system here, this will be a destination for people to come in here and spend a weekend in Putnam County and ride the trails and shop at our businesses,” Bennett said.
Bennett said the board is currently waiting for a land swap to be finalized between Highland Residential, Cookeville, and Gary McNabb. Bennett said the section of land intended for the trail will be owned by Cookeville once the paperwork is complete. Bennett said the board hopes to begin construction on the project by early fall.
As demand grows, Bennett said they will look into connecting the train depot down to West End.
Bennett said the Tennessee Central Trail board will hire and pay the designer while Cookeville will oversee the bidding and construction process. Bennett said there is currently $400,000 available for the project, consisting of city budget funds and private donations.
Bennett said the existing trail currently runs from the Algood Community Center to the depot in Cookeville. Bennett said the long-term goal is to provide health benefits and alternatives to driving while mirroring successful trail systems in other parts of the country, like the Creeper Trail in Virginia.
“One end of the county to the other,” Bennett said. “From the east end to the west end. Of course it’ll be many, many years in the making, but we just take whatever piece we can get, build it and then just try to make connections between sections later on as money becomes available.”
Bennett said the selected designer will work with the planning and public works departments to finalize drawings before the project is put out for bid.
