24-04-2025
$5M secured for Jonesborough, Johnson City bike path link
JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. (WJHL) — Northeast Tennessee's cycling trail network will soon get a long-desired link creating a safe journey from Johnson City to Jonesborough thanks to a $5 million state budget appropriation.
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On top of $2.4 million that went to Jonesborough last year, the money will allow completion of what's called the 'First Frontier Trail.'
'This money specifically will be for Johnson City to build their part of the trail to the city limits on the Jonesborough side,' Jonesborough alderman Kelly Wolfe told News Channel 11 Wednesday. 'It will link Johnson City and Jonesborough, and then in links in a way that proceeds on up to the Tweetsie Trail through Johnson City.
'It's a great anchor and a great kind of main artery,' Wolfe said, adding that Jonesborough is also constructing other trails around town with last year's funding.
'Certainly, we hope that there's many branches and many more trail connections to come, but to have an trail eight-foot-wide running from Jonesborough to Johnson City is a big deal.'
A slight gap that will remain between Jonesborough's current route out of downtown toward the municipal lines is also going to get completed, he said.
'The county (Washington) and the town applied for a separate grant, a local park and rec fund grant to bridge the gap between Johnson City and Jonesborough on that little bit of a stretch there.'
The trail will follow the Old Jonesborough Highway's right-of-way, with Johnson City's portion picking up where Sunny Slopes Drive comes into the highway. Wolfe, who has been closely involved in drumming up support for the project in Nashville, said the highway was originally part of the Bristol to Memphis route and has a wide right-of-way.
'There might be one or two instances of right-of-way acquisition needed, but the overwhelming majority of what's going to be done will be on existing road right-of-way,' Wolfe said.
Matthew Paul is a member of Ride JC, a bicycle advocacy group, and also served on a First Frontier Trail committee.
'Being able to go here from Jonesborough all the way into Johnson City is going to be one of those things that I think is going to really bring a lot of people out onto the trail,' Paul said. 'I'm really excited about that and I know it's just the start, and this is kind of one of the backbones that we're building to connect the communities in our region together.'
Wolfe said he believes state leaders got behind the project because non-motorized trails can help communities in a lot of different ways, including spurring both residential growth and outside visitors.
'There's a project or two that will be able to connect to that that are upcoming, that see that trail and the recreational amenities like that as a big plus for the folks they hope to attract,' Wolfe said. 'Plus, if you look at the map, that road gives you a lot of opportunities to branch off and head other places, either into some existing subdivisions or maybe existing city parks.'
Wolfe hopes the trail, which follows a historic highway that was the route into 'The West' more than two centuries ago, will include historic signage and other features similar to those found along the Tweetsie Trail between Johnson City and Elizabethton.
Paul said he thinks the rise of e-bikes could put more tourists and folks wanting to travel between the town and the city on the trail than would have traversed it just a few years ago. He mentioned the difficulty finding parking at the International Storytelling Festival as an example of when people might use the route.
'They can stay in the hotels in Johnson City and then bike or walk or whatever they need to do to get into Jonesborough, and we can save that parking for people who need it,' Paul said.
'I think as more people get on e-bikes, we're going to see a shift from the traditional cyclist. You're going to see everyday people getting out and having fun on the bikes, but also being able to do things like go get groceries or take the kids to school or things like that.'
Getting more people out and moving is another benefit, Wolfe said.
'We're looking at it as a great opportunity to encourage outdoor activity,' he said. 'I think the governor looked at it that way.'
'Healthy living is something that we have grown large enough, I think, to have a serious discussion about. When you see major roadways planning now they're planning with pedestrian and bike access.'
While he expects advocates like Paul to see a continued growth in trails within cities and towns, Wolfe said the fact that linear trails are likely to safely link Jonesborough, Johnson City, Elizabethton and Hampton within several years is an exciting prospect in and of itself. And he teased the distinct possibility that the six-mile stretch from downtown Jonesborough along Boones Creek Road to Interstate 26 will end up with a bicycle component to it before too long.
'How cool would it be to be able to get on your bike or start walking in downtown Jonesborough and either be able to end up at I-26, tagging on to some new retail development that's going on out there, or go the other way and end up in Hampton and go through Elizabethton and Johnson City and just enjoy as much of God's beauty as you can along the way.'
The state funded a Tweetsie Trail extension between Valley Forge and Hampton two years ago. Some gaps remain between Elizabethton and the Hampton end of Valley Forge, but most of the route will avoid busy roads once that's complete. The recent appropriation appears likely to put the region just a few years from a roughly 24-mile safe bike ride from Jonesborough through Johnson City, Elizabethton and on to Hampton becoming reality.
Paul, who saw a very developed bike infrastructure when he lived in Germany for a time, said the region is advancing further than he once thought possible in that regard.
'The dream of having a regional network that you can walk or bike on, I'm still kind of like waking up to this dream, if that makes sense,' he said. 'It's a very good dream.'
Wolfe hopes the news, and what it will mean once the work's done, is a 'page turn' for a region that's been slogging away in the aftermath of an unprecedented natural disaster in Hurricane Helene.
'It's nice to see something that's tying communities together in the news,' he said. 'You've seen so much about destruction and so many wonderful things that have come from that with people helping people, neighbors loving neighbors.
'This is a fresh start, and we hope to see great things happen in the future with this trail and this trail system.'
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