‘A crucial part’ of Lexington’s trail system finally opens after 11 years of planning
It took more than a decade and $2.6 million but on Monday, the Brighton Rail Trail bridge spanning Man O’War near the intersection of Liberty Road and Pink Pigeon Way finally opened.
“This is a big deal,” said Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton during an official ribbon-cutting ceremony. “It’s a project that has been in the works since 2009.”
It took approximately a year to construct the 900-foot bridge over one of Lexington’s busiest roadways, said Doug Burton, the city’s engineer. The bridge connects two key trail systems — Brighton and Liberty —or about four miles of trails.
The bridge is just one project of many as the city begins to connect its trail systems, including bringing the Town Branch trail through downtown to connect to the Legacy Trail. In total, the city has $53 million in trail projects in the planning or building stages, Gorton said Monday.
Lexington-Fayette Urban County Councilman David Kloiber, who represents the area where the new bridge is located, walks the trail almost daily. People have peppered him with questions on when the bridge will be completed.
“It’s been hugely anticipated,”Kloiber said Monday. “It’s a crucial part of this trail system.”
Brighton Rail Trail was Lexington’s first rail-trail. It is the primary off-road shared use trail in the eastern half of Fayette County. More than 40,000 people use Liberty Park, Brighton Rail, and the Gleneagles trails annually.
The trail system starts in Councilwoman Kathy Plomin’s district, which includes all of the rural areas in Fayette County.
“I live nearby and walk the Brighton Trail often,” Plomin said. “ I am so excited about the trail’s connection to Liberty Road and Liberty Park. The trail head is off of Walnut Hill, a 12th District rural road, and this connection gives the trail close to four continuous miles to walk, run, or bike. I love that it also improves on residential connectivity to Hamburg.”
After a short ribbon-cutting ceremony, bikers and walkers cued up to cross the new bridge.
Burton said other trail systems in the area are in the works. State transportation officials are planning a shared-used path on the improvements on Liberty Road between Man O’ War and New Circle Road. The city owns the section of Liberty Road between New Circle Road and Winchester Road. A similar shared use path is planned for that section, Burton said. But that’s still in the design phase and could take years to complete.
