From Staff Reports

HENDERSONVILLE — As the Ecusta Trail project progresses toward a ribbon-cutting, the City of Hendersonville is pushing for a plan to connect the Ecusta’s South Main trailhead and the Oklawaha Greenway in Jackson Park here, the Hendersonville Lightning reported on Jan. 8.

To make the proposal a reality, the city is applying for a $25 million federal grant, “marking the second time a local government along the Ecusta Trail is going to the same well,” the Lightning stated.

In 2023, the City of Brevard won a $24.5 million grant from the U.S. Transportation Department’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity program.

The Lightning noted that, “while $23 million may sound like big number to fill a small gap, the project’s scope is much larger,” according to City Manager John Connet, who said the city envisions “what we’re calling a festival street” along South Main, “plus improvements to Seventh Avenue, which Oklawaha Greenway crosses, and the design and construction work to raise the trail above Mud Creek,” the Lightning noted.