Carthage receives grant funds for trails

By Michelle Price
UCBJ Managing Editor

CARTHAGE –The town of Carthage has been awarded a grant of $88,000 from the Tennessee Recreational Trails Program (RTP) to pave the existing 1,600 LF trail and to construct a 500 LF trail at the newly developed Recreation and Wellness Park.

Preliminary plans for Carthage walking trails

“By expanding the recreational and cultural opportunities to improve the existing walking trail that the town built in 2017, we will provide an opportunity for more residents to enjoy the park,” Carthage Mayor Donnie Dennis explained. “The project also includes a 500 LF trail for individual that wish to utilize a shorter track, which will open up the park to people with limited mobility.”

The Recreational Trails Program (RTP) is a federal funded, state administered grant program. The RTP provides grant funding for land acquisition for trails, trail maintenance, trail construction, trail rehabilitation and for trail head support facilities. These funds are distributed in the form of an 80 percent grant with a 20 percent match.

“The park complex will also include an amphitheater, which is being funded through a grant from the Department of Tourist Development,” said Dennis. “The collaborative vision that has been developed for this project incorporates the recreational and cultural assets of the area and improves the quality of life for the citizens of Carthage and making it more desirable for new businesses and their employees.”

The total project is estimated to cost $110,000. The town of Carthage will provide any additional funding for the project.

Michelle Price is the former managing editor of the Upper Cumberland Business Journal and can be reached via email. Send an email.

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