Cobb moves forward with trail work in Austell, Cumberland, Kennesaw

Chart Riggall, Marietta Daily Journal, Ga.
·2 min read

Jan. 24—Three of Cobb's highest-priority trails got a boost this month as commissioners signed off on a series of contracts for engineering and design work.

The county inked contracts worth around $1.3 million total for work on the Cumberland Sweep, the trail and shuttle network envisioned for the commercial center, and the Austell-Powder Springs trail. The spending won't include any construction costs, which are to-be-determined.

The latter of these would be the first ever formal multi-use trail within the Austell city limits, according to Cobb County, and fold into broader plans by the city to redevelop its downtown. Beginning at the Silver Comet Linear Park in Powder Springs, the 12-foot-wide path would head south for about 4 miles to downtown Austell, passing existing parks like Legion Field and Clarkdale Park.

Drew Raessler, the county's transportation director, wrote in a memo the new trail, once built, will result "in all seven cities within Cobb County connecting with each other through the multi-use trail system."

The Cumberland Sweep, meanwhile, has been moving forward at a healthy clip in recent years, thanks in no small part to the efforts of the Cumberland Community Improvement District.

Billed as the district's own version of the Atlanta Beltline, the project formerly known as the multi-modal path will one day be a 3-mile network of pedestrian and bike trails, along with a self-driving shuttle service. The project is under construction in segments as the CID partners with Cobb County and federal authorities.

Finally, the commission also approved the advertisement of a contract for engineering services on the Noonday Creek Trail, the seven-mile path snaking through the Town Center area. The study will look at building several new crossings in the area, including over the creek itself, but primarily over Cobb Parkway/US 41.

For the Cumberland Sweep study — for which consultant Kimley-Horn will charge about $1 million — $840,000 will be covered by federal grants, with the remainder up to the county. The $300,000 study for the Austell-Powder Springs trail will be covered by 2016 SPLOST funds.