Groundbreaking Ceremonies for Tracy City Mountain Goat Trail Project
Thursday, October 5, 2017
Official groundbreaking ceremonies will take place on Monday, Oct. 23, for the downtown Tracy City portion of the Mountain Goat Trail.
The ceremonies will begin at 4:30 p.m. in downtown Tracy City, across from the Grundy County Historical Society.
Tracy City Mayor Larry Phipps said, “This will be an exciting day for our town. We’re breaking ground not just on the Mountain Goat Trail, but also on another improvement to Tracy City, which will improve our quality of life.”
The 1.2-mile section of the Mountain Goat Trail will extend from Tracy City Elementary School to the town city hall. It is the first of three sections of the trail which have been funded for construction, and which will connect Tracy City to Monteagle with a combined 6.2 miles of paved trail.
“The MGTA is grateful for the chance to assist Tracy City with their Mountain Goat Trail project. We look forward to working with the town as we connect Tracy City to Monteagle over the next two years,” said Nate Wilson, MGTA board president.
The Mountain Goat Trail project is being funded by a TDOT Transportation Enhancement grant. Governor Haslam visited Grundy County in 2014 to present the town with a check representing the grant amount of $603,569. The town has arranged for a loan to provide the 20 percent cash match for the grant.
The Mountain Goat Trail is a rail to trail community outdoor recreation project to convert an abandoned railroad right-of-way into a multi-use recreational corridor between Grundy and Franklin Counties on the Cumberland Plateau in Middle Tennessee. When finished, the trail will be 35-40 miles in length, climbing from Cowan onto the Cumberland Plateau and passing through the towns of Sewanee, Monteagle, Tracy City, Coalmont, Gruetli-Laager and Palmer.