By SPEAKIN’ OUT NEWS
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The Huntsville City Council has approved a $1.5 million contract with Grayson Carter & Son Contracting to complete the third and final phase of the Tennessee River Greenway, connecting Hobbs Road to Green Cove Road.
The 1.5-mile project will link Elgie’s Greenway to Ditto Landing, where Madison County is building a $13 million event center with support from the city.
“This would complete a missing final link of the Tennessee River Greenway that we’ve been working on for several years,” said Shane Davis, Huntsville’s Director of Urban and Economic Development. “Once completed, it will provide a 15-mile loop connecting both the west and east sides of South Memorial Parkway.”
Davis explained that users will be able to begin near Hays Farm and Haysland, travel down to the river, pass under U.S. 231 into Ditto Landing, and continue along Ditto Marina Parkway and Aldridge Creek to Jones Valley.
“There is a lot of interest in this,” said newly installed City Council President Jennie Robinson. “It’s such a crucial piece to complete, and everyone — especially the biking community — will be very excited.”
Davis added that the city’s planning and engineering departments have received numerous calls about the “missing link” and the growing demand for continuous trails across south Huntsville.
Grayson Carter & Son, based in Athens, is currently involved in several city infrastructure projects, including street and road improvements.
Land Donation for Land Trust Discovery Center
In other business, the Council approved donating 0.265 acres of land near the Trailhead Greenway to the Land Trust of North Alabama for construction of its upcoming Discovery Center.
“This helps facilitate the Land Trust’s new Discovery Center so they can move forward with construction,” Davis said.
The site, located off U.S. 72 East behind the Trailhead community, currently serves as a 17-space public parking lotproviding access to Land Trust trails. The Land Trust plans to rebuild the parking area after construction.