Recent grant funding will help complete the initial design work for Wilmington’s Northside pedestrian and bicycle trail in the abandoned Atlantic Coast Line (ACL) railroad bed, known as the Rail Trail.
“The Wilmington Urban Area Metropolitan Planning Organization awarded the City of Wilmington $680,000 from our Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act funding to complete the design for the Downtown Trail Phase One, which includes the Rail Trail,” says Mike Kozlosky, executive director of WMPO.
Engineering firm WSP was scheduled to complete the survey work for the initial 2.2-mile trail by the end of March. This phase connects 3rd Street to the Love Grove bridge. The recent funds are for design work with construction funds to come later.
“The path could be anywhere from 8- to 12-feet wide depending upon the design, which has yet to be completed,” Kozlosky says.
The city has a rich railroad history, but there have not been any passenger trains since 1968.
The difficulties and exciting possibilities are spelled out in the 2020 Rail Trail Master Plan. Enhanced walking paths, better connections for bus transit, local art, area history preserved and on display, handicapped access, and exercise stations are all elements of the plan.
Phase 1
Phase One constitutes land leveling, storm drainage, and the construction of the pedestrian walkway.
Phase 2
Phase Two will include protective fencing, art installments, and will require some safety development with the N.C. Department of Transportation.
Phase 3
Although still many years down the road, an exciting third phase would be to reintroduce passenger rail to downtown, completing the multimodal design.
Photo Courtesy of Wilmington Railroad Museum
Grassroots efforts by residents, business people and community leaders helped reignite the desire to make use of the long deserted 5.9-mile rail bed and have been the muscle in getting the greenway started. Whether used by bicycling or walking enthusiasts, historians, art lovers, or proud Wilmingtonians, the opening of a walkable connection from the northside to all the amenities downtown could be a great boon for the area.
Planning takes time. The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) released survey results in 2001 discussing the feasibility of passenger rail lines in Southeastern North Carolina. The report indicated there was strong interest in rail from Wilmington to the Northeast and Raleigh. The pluses include reduced air pollution, new economic development, and alternate means of travel for college students, businesspeople and tourists. It could possibly meet some freight needs for the Port City as well. A station location is yet to be determined.
The 2013 New Hanover County/City of Wilmington Comprehensive Greenway Plan introduced a rail trail idea. One goal cited was “to ease access from underserved communities of Northside and Love Grove to the amenities blossoming in downtown.” Survey results revealed almost 20 percent of Northside residents did not have access to a car.
The rail bed as it looks today, from the 5th Avenue bridge looking east toward 6th Street. Photo by Allison Potter
While the design is being completed and will need to be approved, other enhancements have taken place in recent years.
In 2016, the NCDOT completed the $4.4 million replacement of 3rd Street’s 100-year-old bridge between Hanover and Campbell streets. In 2019, the new bridge was dedicated in memory of Meadowlark Lemon, the Wilmington native famous for his basketball skills and antics for 20 years with the Harlem Globetrotters. He died in 2015.
Noted as the first art installment of the Rail Trail, the Meadowlark Lemon Memorial Bridge was first lit on April 12, 2021. The bridge is lit nightly from dusk to 2 a.m., and from 5 a.m. to sunrise. The Rail Trail will go through the underpass and eventually connect to the Riverwalk.
Additional details, images, maps and plans are available by searching Wilmington Rail Trail Master Plan, at WMPO.org, and visiting Connect.NCDOT.gov.
Timeline of the Wilmington Railbed
1840 Wilmington & Weldon Railroad was completed.
1960 After 115 years, the railroad by then known as the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad relocated its headquarters from Wilmington to Florida, devastating the local economy. It was the number one employer.
1968 Passenger rail service ceased in downtown Wilmington.
2013 Wilmington completed comprehensive greenway plan, identifying potential downtown greenways.
By Christine R. Gonzalez
Published May 2022 Wrightsville Beach Magazine.
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