Burke River TrailAs part of the Burke County Chamber Litter Sweep, Burke River Trail Association held trash pickups in all the towns along the Burke River Trail route during the week of March 20-27. 65 bags of trash were collected in 9 towns over the 8 day event.
Burke River Trail Association was granted $2500 from Mountain BizWorks for pre-development work to show how the Burke River Trail will flow between the Old Glory Mill and the Catawba River.
David Harmon Architecture was selected to create four renderings of how a two-story restaurant with outside dining space, the trail and access from inside the building to outside could be combined. The brick section in the renderings already exists as part of the mill building.
Though Catawba River is prominent in the nonprofit’s name, Catawba Riverkeeper advocates for all waters of the Catawba River Basin
Because of their involvement with our waterways and our work of making connections along the river and creeks, we meet from time to time to keep each other updated on projects. During a recent outdoor meeting at Valdese Lakeside Park (a trailhead for Burke River Trail), Ryan Carter, Policy Manager and Grant Buckner, Northern Basin Director for Catawba Riverkeeper, reviewed area conservation efforts for water, land and wildlife with Rep Blackwell and Burke River Trail Executive Director, Beth Heile.
Our Trail Towns could also be Rail Towns! In December 2023, the Federal Railroad Administration selected the Salisbury to Asheville rail route as part of the Corridor Identification and Development Program. The route is one of seven NC corridors receiving a $500,000 grant from the Department of Transportation to pay for the feasibility studies to decide the viability of the routes.
There is the potential for our Burke County towns to host a train station or be a whistle stop. BRTA will be working closely with the Waiting for the Train nonprofit to make sure our Trail Towns do not miss out. All towns have Norfolk Southern running through town limits – except Rhodhiss and it is on a private spur — so potential there.