The Town of Chapel Hill will host a celebration on Saturday for the opening of the Morgan Creek Trail.
The new trail provides access to open space south and west of Fordham Boulevard, a woodland corridor James Taylor once referred to as “Copperline.†The trail is part of the town’s network of more than 28 miles of linear open space.
Morgan Creek Trail is located on the north side of Morgan Creek, from Merritt Pasture to a new parking lot east of Kingswood Apartments. The celebration marks the completion of the first phase of the $1.2 million project, which features a 0.85-mile concrete trail, two new bridges, a section of boardwalk and an underpass of U.S. 15-501. Phase Two of the project is expected to begin in 2012 and will connect Phase One of the Morgan Creek Trail with the existing Fan Branch Trail.
The new trail will provide access to the 92-acre nature preserve that stretches along Morgan Creek from Merritt Pasture to the Chapel Hill town limit at Smith Level Road. The land is bounded by Merritt Pasture on the east, the Carrboro town line on the west, Culbreth Road to the south and Fordham Boulevard to the north. The open space was acquired by the town in a series of acquisitions that were finalized in March 2007.
Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt, Greenways Commission Chair Christine Berndt, Johnny Randall of the Botanical Garden Foundation and Public Arts Commission Chair Gerald Bolas will speak at the event. Following a ribbon-cutting ceremony, participants will be invited on a hike of the trail and Merritt Pasture.
Shuttles from Frank Porter Graham Elementary School on Smith Level Road will start at 10 a.m.; the celebration is set to begin at 11. —Staff Reports