Details have been worked out to extend the Greenline another four miles, from east Memphis to Cordova. The Shelby County Public Works Division negotiated a contract with CSX Railroad to purchase the deserted railroad right-of-way from Farm Road to the old Cordova train station on B Street.
“This is another significant step to provide our community a first-class recreational route for walkers, joggers and bikers,” said Shelby County Mayor Mark H. Luttrell Jr. “It will encourage physical fitness and provide a unique way to link our neighborhoods.”
The new extension will make the Greenline almost 10 miles long. Right now, it extends west from Farm Road to Tillman Avenue near midtown.
It’s taken $4.8 million to build the Greenline. Federal grants covered 75 percent of the cost. Shelby County government allocated $650,000 and the remaining $550,000 was donated by the Shelby Farms Park Conservancy.
“CSX Railroad was a great partner during the negotiations of the right-of-way,” said Tom Needham, Director of Shelby County Public Works. “We’re so pleased to move this project forward. The Greenline has become one of our community’s most important assets.”
The Shelby Farms Greenline is a key element of the Mid-South Regional GreenPrint, with a goal to eventually extend east and west, and to connect to other unused railroad lines in other communities.
The master plan calls for the recreational route to be an important part of a network of greenways, blueways, parks and trails that link the community from as far east as Oakland, Tenn., west to the Big River Crossing at the Harrahan Bridge into Arkansas. These connections could eventually go south into New Orleans along the Mississippi River levee and north to Illinois.
“We’re pleased Mayor Luttrell and his staff at Shelby County government have successfully negotiated the contract with CSX, and we look forward to assuming the
management of this section of the Shelby Farms Greenline,” said Laura Morris, Executive Director of Shelby Farms Park Conservancy. “Indeed, this is another major development for the Shelby Farms Park Conservancy. The Greenline extension through Cordova will bring even more people to the wonderful recreational assets we provide.”
Once the Shelby County Commission approves the railroad right-of-way contract, bids for the Greenline extension will go out in early 2015 with construction to begin in the spring.
For additional information about the Greenline, contact Jen Andrews, Director of Development and Communications, Shelby Farms Park Conservancy at jandrews@shelbyfarmspark.org or
