larryfeltonj

After Connect the Comet worked on this for over ten years, the announcement that the Silver Comet Trail is being extended toward Atlanta is expected within a week. At the moment, it looks like the first phase is building along the CSX tracks from the existing endpoint near the Publix on South Cobb Drive to the western edge of Plant Atkinson. Then the trick will be getting from there to the river. But this is a huge step forward.

https://cobbcountycourier.com/2018/0...ail-extension/

DrIsotope

I wish you nothing but good luck. Construction of a 4.5 mile stretch to extend the northern end of the Santa Ana River Trail (SART) was approved in 2008, funded (supposedly) in 2011, and we haven't seen anything yet. The 12.8 mile section in Corona is slated to begin construction sometime in 2019. Bidding for that project ended in 2010. The wheels of bureaucracy do move so very slowly.

larryfeltonj

One advantage this extension has is that it's a top priority of the Cobb County DOT, as part of its Greenways and Trails Master Plan. The Silver Comet Trail is a big economic benefit to the county. The planning, bidding, and funding will obviously take time, but I suspect it will be fast-tracked as much as possible.

Juan Foote

In honesty, not that I ride it any more, but at the time that I did it would have been a HUGE boon to be able to get even from the river (site of the stadium now) over to the Comet on an actual rail to trail path. What passes for the trail in that area is actually the sidewalk and is hilly beyond what I would consider an average for fun rider's ability without walking.

dancolestock

This is long-awaited news, 20 years! It's so frustrating, that stretch of CSX right-of-way has seen little use since 11/1998 when the Cobb section of the Silver Comet Trail first opened. In fact, the unused tracks down at the Plant Atkinson Road crossing have been paved over with 2-3 inches of asphalt for years, making train passage impossible. It's possible that the Silver Comet Trail will be extended along the right-of-way down to Atlanta Road, or perhaps all the way across the Chattahoochee River on the trestle bridge (landing right in the middle of Atlanta's infamous RM Clayton Water Reclamation Plant). Depends on the terms of the agreement with the state and how much right-of-way CSX is willing to officially abandon, fortunately they're finally in the mood to deal..
The point is for Cobb County to complete the eastern end of their segment of the SCT, connecting across the Chattahoochee River into Atlanta/Fulton County, which will leave it solely up to them to make final connection(s) with the Atlanta Beltline trail network.
This extension of the Silver Comet Trail will get trail users safely past heavy traffic on the East-West Connector Highway, South Cobb Drive, I-285 north/south and the CSX Atlanta-Chattanooga line via existing underpasses.

Spoonrobot 

The editor's note seems to have walked back the story: