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By Buzz Trexler
Star Correspondent

A half-million-dollar project approved by City Council during Thursday night’s regular meeting will connect a 10-foot linear path from South Riverside Drive to the Tweetsie Trail, a project one city official said is supported by downtown merchants.

The plan is to construct the linear path along Hattie Avenue, connecting South Riverside Drive to the Tweetsie Trail at Cedar Avenue. The proposed improvements include a two-way bike path, road resurfacing, signage, replacing noncompliant ADA ramps and replacing curb and sidewalk sections.

Assistant City Manager Logan Engle said while Main Street Director Courtney Bean was not present, she would express support for the South Riverside Drive-to-Tweetsie Trail connector because it has “been a priority of Main Street.”

“Since the first Main Street meeting I ever attended, there has been conversation about trying to better connect these two trails to downtown, and this is one way we can do that because obviously you’re right here at the heart of downtown,” Engle said.

Under a contract with the Tennessee Department of Transportation, the project will be funded through Surface Transportation Block Grant funds and local funding sources. The grant requires a 20 percent local match for all project phases. According to a summary provided to City Council, the estimated project cost is $520,000, of which $416,000 will come from federal funding, and the remaining $104,000 will come from local funding contributions.

The project costs will be split into three years, with the estimated local match for fiscal year 2026 being $7,000; fiscal year 2027, $7,000; and $90,000 for the construction phase in 2028.

The linear path connector project is part of the Johnson City Metropolitan Transportation Planning Organization’s Transportation Improvement Plan, which includes regionally significant and federally funded transportation projects.

“Whenever we talk about the linear trail, it’s almost like we’re talking about construction of the Great Wall of China. It took a while to build it all,” Councilman Jeff Treadway said as city GIS and Engineering Manager Matthew Balogh answered questions about the project. “How much more would we have to do to finish that?”

“There are two phases left to do,” Balogh said, then described the sections that are not yet completed. “There has been trouble with right of way, especially in that area at the state Route 400 bridge.”

Engle said city staff has been “talking about the need for a better planning document to guide pursuing funding for finishing that portion of the project.”

“Since the project started, two things have changed,” Engle said. “One, TDOT specifications for what they require have changed, obviously, because it’s been a while since that project was birthed. And a lot of ecological requirements have changed in terms of what environmental studies are required and those sorts of things. And so, those two things — the right-of-way piece and TDOT’s changes and then the environmental concerns — I think really delayed those last two phases.”