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Jacksonville rail-trail underway

Jacksonville marked the start of an ambitious program Dec. 13 when it officially launched a rail-trail that connects with the Camp Lejeune Marine Base. It is part of a 172-mile trails plan.
  Built on old railroad routes, the project’s first phase consists of a 5.2-mile trail along Marine Boulevard, continuing down Bell Fork Road and over Lejeune Boulevard, stopping at Camp Lejeune’s main gate. 
  Subsequent phases will continue the trail onto the Marine base, which donated 54 miles of its own paths to the trails system. Congressional authorization was needed to transfer 50 acres to the trails system.
  The city council awarded a $4.1 million construction contract to Rea Contracting from Charlotte. The cost was $2.6 million more than originally anticipated. Engineers have estimated construction prices for the pedestrian bridge over Lejeune Boulevard alone as falling in the $2 million range.

    Lejeune Boulevard bridge goes in place
Rea Contracting has been grading the rail bed in preparation for asphalt paving, Recreation and Parks Director Michael Carter said. The first phase should be complete in 15 to 18 months. 
        Jacksonville Rail-Trail Project
The commission will then set its sights on  funding grants in 2008 and extending the trail along Lejeune Boulevard into downtown. 
  The project also holds a more operational purpose, as well, said Nick Irrera, one of the city’s Trails and Greenways Commission’s members. Irrera hopes the trails will get more people out of their cars and onto their bikes. 
  Like Irrera, city ouncil member Fannie Coleman has also seen the rails-to-trails project in its infancy and was just as eager to see it materialize. 
  “When my first term on the council started in the early ’90s, this started up,” said Coleman, the council’s liaison to the Trails and Greenways Commission. “This is one of the things I’ve looked forward to the most in my tenure on the council.” 
  Rhonda Parker, former Jacksonville planning administrator, was an essential player. North Carolina Rail-Trails began working with Jacksonville and Onslow County in 1990. The process included identifying stakeholders and financial resources. 

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