The first phase of the Emerald Trail will soon be open.
The city of Jacksonville scheduled a ribbon-cutting for the 1.3-mile LaVilla Link of the trail system for 10 a.m. May 6, city Chief Communications Officer Phillip Perry confirmed in response to questions from the Daily Record.
Also known as the Model Mile, the LaVilla Link connects Brooklyn to LaVilla and the S-Line Rail Link, which starts along Myrtle Avenue.
Among the LaVilla Link’s features are a 14-foot-wide concrete pedestrian/bicycle path, shaded porch swings, an observation deck overlooking Lee Street, native plantings and palm trees. On the Park Street Bridge, the surface of the trail is painted with a geometric pattern of emerald- and lime-hued paint.
The project has been nearly three years in the making, with groundbreaking for the first phase in August 2021.
The 30-mile Emerald Trail is a public/private partnership between the city and nonprofit Groundwork Jacksonville, which developed the master plan for the project. City Council approved the plan in March 2019, and officials are hoping for completion of the project by 2030.
According to Groundwork Jacksonville, the LaVilla Link cost $8.9 million. Pond & Co. is the designer and Astra Group the contractor. Astra was responsible for the 33-mile Atlanta Beltline, a similar urban trail project.
This spring, Jacksonville was awarded $147 million in federal grant money for the Emerald Trail, the largest one-time federal grant in the city’s history. The grant will be matched with $36.65 million from the local option gas tax, which city leaders increased by 6 cents in 2021 to fund infrastructure improvements.
The Jacksonville Transportation Authority also is a partner in the Emerald Trail.
During the April 25 JTA board meeting, JTA CEO Nat Ford said staff planned to arrange a town hall-type meeting with contractors and designers to discuss how to expedite construction of the project and complete it “sooner than later.”
The Emerald Trail was launched in 2021 with $132 million in funding from the gas tax.
At a March event heralding the federal grant, Groundwork Jacksonville CEO Kay Ehas said 40% of the trail was completed, under construction or being designed.
