Two popular trails in Calhoun County are about to get even better thanks to $200,000 in grants awarded by Gov. Robert Bentley.
Bentley awarded $100,000 for an almost three-quarter-mile paved extension of the existing 33-mile-long Chief Ladiga Trail. The addition, when combined with the adjoining Silver Comet Trail in Georgia, brings the total length of the two paved trails to nearly 100 miles.
Bentley also awarded $100,000 to add a six-mile extension to the 25-mile-long Coldwater Mountain trail system. Already attracting mountain bikers from throughout the nation, the extended trail should become one of the nation’s top biking destinations, according to local officials and biking enthusiasts.
“Anniston and the surrounding area have during the past few years become a destination for bicyclists,” Bentley said. “I am tremendously proud of both trail systems and what they have come to mean for recreation in Alabama.”
The 10-foot-wide Chief Ladiga Trail extension will be from Alabama Highway 21 at Baltzell Gate Road to Glade Road. The project is part of a master plan to other parts of the Chief Ladiga Trail and Coldwater Mountain. The Chief Ladiga Trail, while not yet complete, extends to the Georgia line where it becomes the Silver Comet Trail, continuing almost to Atlanta.
The Coldwater trail addition will be located on property that is part of Alabama’s Forever Wild Program. In addition to new trails for skilled mountain bikers, trails also will be developed for beginning bikers and day hikers.
The trail system is being constructed by volunteers coordinated by the Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association, a branch of the International Mountain Bicycling Association, and by the Northeast Alabama Bicycle Club. Anniston and surrounding cities also are providing support and services for the trail system.
Bentley notified Anniston Mayor Vaughn Stewart and SORBA Executive Director Tom Sauret that the grants had been approved. Both projects received previous Recreational Trail funding.
The Recreational Trails Grant Program funds projects for walking, hiking, bicycling, boating, paddling, horseback riding and other trails. The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs administers the grants, which are awarded to local governments and nonprofit groups. Local support equal to at least 20 percent of the grant is required. The Federal Highway Administration allocates funds for the program to Alabama.
ADECA administers a wide range of programs including law enforcement, economic development, recreation, energy and water resources.
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Contact Jim Plott or Larry Childers