Historic trail gets $1M-plus boost in Burke

New sections, improvements, and repairs worth more than $1 million are coming to the Overmountain Victory State Trail in Burke County early next year, funded by a mix of state, federal, and corporate dollars, officials said.

Burke County Trails Specialist Sarah Chabaane said the project will result in repairs to nearly 4 miles of trail and construction of another 3.5 miles in the Lake James area.

The Great Trails State Program earlier this year awarded Burke County more than $1 million in trail improvement and construction funds. As part of the award, the Fonta Flora State Trail and Overmountain Victory State Trail received a total of $762,886 for construction and repairs.

Chabaane said the grant requires matching funds from local, in-kind, and other sources. According to Chabaane, the lineup of matching funds includes a Federal hurricane repair grant for $152,600, managed by Foothills Conservancy; $28,933 from Duke Energy as part of a relicensing agreement; and an in-kind construction gift from Duke of about $214,000.

According to Chabaane, the work will include improvements and repairs to two outdated sections of the Overmountain Victory Trail in the 1780 neighborhood damaged by Hurricane Helene.

A lighted pedestrian crossing on NC 126 will be installed near Fonta Flora Brewery’s Whippoorwill Farm location, and multiple pedestrian crossings in the 1780 neighborhood will be installed or updated, Chabaane said. A bridge in that area will also be repaired, she added.

Workers will also address several steep climbs on the trail, providing “some relief in the terrain,” she said.

A new 1.5-mile section of trail will extend into the Enclave neighborhood behind 1780, traveling through that community and ending at South Mountain Institute Road, where a new trailhead will be constructed, she said.

Duke Energy will also help construct a new 2-mile section of trail below the Lake James dam, connecting the Corpening Chapel Road area to the Bridgewater Road area, said Chabaane. Construction will include a new bridge.

Bidding for private contractors will begin in October or November, Chabaane said, with work expected to begin in January or February. The grant allows two years for completion, but she is hopeful work will take about eight months, depending on weather and contractor availability.

According to North Carolina State Parks, the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail follows a 330-mile route through Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina, roughly tracing the footsteps of the patriot militia that defeated British loyalists at the Battle of Kings Mountain in 1780.

Overmountain Victory State Trail in North Carolina is still in development, with plans for 225 miles of trail in coming years. Chabaane said the trail follows a corridor about a mile wide that historians believe the “Overmountain Men” traveled on their way to the battle.

Some areas are more precise than others, she said, but the views of landmarks like Shortoff Mountain and Grandfather Mountain with the Blue Ridge extending behind them are the same as they were when the patriot force marched down to the Catawba River to Morganton to muster for battle.

Foothills Conservancy Trails Program Director Shane Prisby said repairing Helene damage and building new sections of trail is “really important” to communities that “identify themselves around recreation infrastructure like trails and reserved lands.”

“There are not many historic trails,” he said. “We’re fortunate to have this running through our community. … There’s a lot of history and story that is told and interpreted through this trail system, so it’s important to have it restored.”

Chabaane said the project gets the trail closer than ever to connecting to sections of trail in McDowell and Buncombe counties.

“We’re so close to the county line with this project section,” she said. “Increasing the growth of the trail and showing that long range that we have been working toward is a pretty exciting moment for us.”

And the work won’t stop when the project is done, Chabaane said.

“Keep an eye out,” she said. “We’re going to continue to keep growing the trail.”