BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Bids will be opened this month to continue construction of the Palatka-to-Lake Butler State Trail through Bradford County, including the portion crossing U.S. 301.
Barney Bennett from the Florida Department of Transportation previewed the work for county commissioners June 3.
Three separate sections have been funded for construction, with bids opening on June 11. The first is 2.3 miles from C.R. 327 in Union County to C.R. 235 in Bradford. The railroad trestle over New River will be removed and replaced with a 600-foot pedestrian bridge, Bennett said. The second segment is 4.1 miles from C.R. 235 to C.R. 225 (Southwest 102nd Avenue in Sampson City).
These first two segments, which were bid as a single project, have an expected completion date of June 2027.
The third segment picks up at C.R. 227 and extends to C.R. 18 (Navarre Avenue) in Hampton. This 2.9-mile portion includes a 225-foot pedestrian bridge over U.S. 301, passing 24 feet above the traffic. The expected completion date is November 2026.
Construction is expected to begin in September, with construction on U.S. 301 primarily taking place at night to limit traffic disruption. Florida Power and Light and Comcast are relocating their lines now to make way for the project.
These projects will help fill the gap from Lake Butler to Hampton. Existing segments include the stretch from Lake Bulter to C.R. 237 and from Hampton to Keystone Heights and beyond. There is an additional unfunded segment from C.R. 225 in Sampson City to C.R. 227. This requires some additional permitting through the Florida Department of Environmental Protection because of the 120-foot pedestrian bridge proposed over Sampson River. It also requires a permanent easement over a CSX railroad crossing.
The trail does not cross the railroad in Hampton, Bennet said. The trail will end on the east side of the crossing and pick up on the west side, requiring users to cross using C.R. 18 until FDOT can place a sidewalk there. That, too, will require a permanent easement, and time prevented including it in this project, Bennett said.
The full length of the trail from Lake Butler to Palatka is nearly 47 miles. The two main trailheads are in Lake Butler and at Twin Lakes, but Bradford County issued a recent request for proposed trailhead improvements to Bobby Sheppard Park in Hampton. It is an FDOT SCOP grant funded project.
The trail is open to walkers, runners, cyclists, inline skaters and pets. Sometimes still referred to as Rails to Trails, Florida Department of Transportation’s Division of State Lands acquired the former railroad corridor in 2001. These segments are part of the Florida National Scenic Trail stretching from Big Cypress National Preserve in the Everglades to the Gulf Islands National Seashore in the western Panhandle.
A designated part of the Florida Greenways and Trails system, the design and construction is funded through FDOT’s SUN Trail program.
