Mobile leaders broke ground Thursday on a new section of the Three Mile Creek Greenway, signaling a long-awaited step forward in the construction of a recreational path that will one day link Downtown to the Langan Municipal Park area.

The first stretch of the greenway opened in 2017, stretching from the east end of Tricentennial Park across Stanton Road and westward to a terminus on a neighborhood street southeast of USA Health University Hospital. The new section, a nine-month project, will extend the trail westward to the hospital.

“This trail has been talked about for 35 years, at least,” said Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson. He said bringing it to fruition involved a lot of partnerships, such as cooperation with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

“It’s taken funding sources from multiple places to make this a reality,” said ADCNR Commissioner Chris Blankenship. The ADCNR served as a conduit for funds awarded through the RESTORE Act. Stimpson also acknowledged the support of the South Alabama Regional Planning Commission and Mobile County.

The first stretch of path has offered recreational possibilities for runners, walkers and cyclists. “My daughter learned how to ride her bike on the trail,” said District 1 Councilman Cory Penn, who was on hand for Thursday’s event.

With the completion of the second, the greenway will begin to provide a way of getting from one destination to another: The park, the hospital, the nearby Toulminville Branch of the Mobile Public Library. That evolution will continue as new sections are added.

Jenn Greene, the city’s director of programs and project management, said that the next section to begin construction will be the westernmost piece, stretching eastward from the Charles Wood Japanese Garden near Langan Park.

Engineering work for two more sections is nearly complete. Because they’re funded through the RESTORE Act, they’ll undergo a federal review before being put out for bid. One will go from Tricentennial Park eastward to a terminus on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., which will provide the final link to Downtown. The other will reach from University Hospital westward to Mill Street Park and will include a new pedestrian bridge.

Ultimately, the two halves will be linked by a center section that crosses the I-65 corridor, a complicated stretch that also involves rail and highway crossings. Greene said planners continue to pursue grants to fund that part of the greenway.

Details on the overall project, including maps, can be found at mapformobile.org.

Related:

When will Mobile’s Three Mile Creek Greenway grow? Soon, planners hope

Mobile’s Three Mile Creek Greenway: Path and promise for a neglected waterway