North Carolina DOT invests over $300,000 in feasibility funding for proposed East Coast Greenway segments

DURHAM, North Carolina - The North Carolina Department of Transportation recently announced an investment of $334,750 to support feasibility studies for proposed East Coast Greenway segments in Kure Beach, Johnston County and Granville County, North Carolina. 

The awarded funding is part of NCDOT’s new Integrated Mobility Division (IMD) Paved Trails Feasibility Studies Program.

Feasibility studies help identify the specifics of where a trail can be built and are an important first step to prepare to get funding for design and then construction of a trail. 

All three applications submitted for proposed East Coast Greenway segments were awarded funding, including: 

• Town of Kure Beach: Island Greenway to Fort Fisher Feasibility Study - $97,850 

• Johnston County: Smithfield to Benson East Coast Greenway Segment Feasibility Study - $118,450 

• Granville County: Granville North Feasibility Study - $118,450 

"The three Paved Trail Feasibility Studies awarded by NCDOT’s Integrated Mobility Division for East Coast Greenway segments in North Carolina will lay the groundwork for developing trails in three North Carolina communities,” said Andrew Meeker, North Carolina Manager for the East Coast Greenway Alliance. “This feasibility funding is critical as we look to take the next steps of acquiring funding to complete the East Coast Greenway in North Carolina.” 

In Kure Beach, the funding will study potential connections between the popular Carolina Beach Island Greenway through Kure Beach to the Fort Fisher State Recreation Area and ferry to Southport. 

In Johnston and Granville counties, the newly funded studies will build upon completed studies in 2022 in each county. In combination, the studies will complete the planning and evaluation of the East Coast Greenway in two critical counties on either end of the greater Triangle region. 

Within North Carolina, the East Coast Greenway features a 365-mile spine route and a 425-mile complementary coastal route. The 75-mile stretch of greenway from North Durham through Cary, Raleigh and Clayton forms the longest nearly continuous stretch of the entire 3,000-mile East Coast Greenway in a metropolitan area. 

In 2021, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper signed House Bill 130 into law, officially designating the East Coast Greenway as a unit of the North Carolina State Parks system and an official North Carolina State Trail.