As part of the Environmental Impact Statement process, NC DOT is seeking public input through a series of hearings and a short on-line survey. Please take a few minutes to complete this survey. This new corridor will include a designated portion on which a trail can be constructed and we want to let the State know we strongly support this an want DOT and other State agencies to take an active role in getting trails planned and constructed from the VA line to Raleigh.

Great news! The General Assembly just passed a budget that retains full funding of $108,000 for Adopt-a-Trail, despite the extremely tough financial situation faced by state government this year. Thanks for your help in telling legislators about the value of the program. Legislators did report they heard from constituents, and that really made a difference in such a difficult year. Please take a moment now to thank your legislators for supporting the program. They will appreciate it, and it will help strengthen the support for future funding.

Here is contact information for House members and for Senators.

About 100 people came out to the June 5th dedication. Information on the trail and related topics was available at several booths. Attendees heard remarks from Chatham, Durham, the town of Cary, NCDOT, NC Rail-Trails, TRTC and from Speaker of the NC House, Joe Hackney. For pictures please go to the American Tobacco Trail page on Flickr.

Over the past few months NC DOT and Chatham County have been examining traffic patterns and parking at both the O'Kelly Chapel and New Hope Church crossings. Significant and fairly high speed traffic is typical at both locations. In light of this high volume vehicle traffic and the limited sight lines at O'Kelly, DOT and Chatham have decided to limit road-side parking near the crossing. NO PARKING signs will be installed during June. Reduced speed limits for these roads are also being considered. Some discussion of this situation can be found in a recent Chatham Journal article. As noted in the article, Chatham is planning and budgeting for a dedicated trailhead parking area on New Hope Church Road to be opened in 2013. Trail users are urged to park at either the Pittard-Sears crossing or at the White Oak Church Road trailhead.

Using nearly $300,000 from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Durham will be doing much needed re-surfacing of portions of the ATT and several other greenways over the next 90 days.

On Saturday May 15th we sponsored a brief ceremony to dedicate the completion of this latest connection to the ATT. We heard remarks from staff from both the North Carolina Rails Division and the Parks Division, Durham Parks & Recreation, City Councilman Mike Woodward, Durham County Commissioner Ellen Reckow and from Ray Eurquhart of the Southside neighborhood group. All recognized the fine partnership in this effort. Several local residents said how grateful the neighborhood was for the connector and thanked the TRTC for our work. After the ceremony we installed a new information sign to guide connector users to nearby streets and destinations. Below are some pictures from this event.