City officials held a ribbon cutting to open the second phase of the Brighton East Rail Trail on Monday, Sept. 30.
“The Brighton Rail Trail project has taken an abandoned rail line and turned it into something people can enjoy,” Lexington Mayor Jim Gray said at the ceremony. “This trail has a beautiful tree canopy that is like no other trail in Lexington.”
The shared use trail is 12-feet wide and runs two miles, from Bryant Road to Walnut Grove Lane. The new section runs from Pleasant Ridge Drive to Walnut Grove and was funded by a combination of federal, state and local funds.
Councilmember Kevin Stinnett, whose district holds the trail, said, “The new expansion of the Brighton Rail Trail symbolizes our commitment to improving community health and our trail systems throughout Lexington. It provides a valuable recreational amenity to east Lexington, while connecting neighborhoods and people to one another.”
A rail trail is an abandoned railroad line that is redeveloped for recreational use. Brighton East is the first rail trail in Fayette County. Construction of the first phase was completed in 2007.
The expansion of the trail is part of a larger plan to connect Brighton Rail Trail to the Liberty Park Trail. “As we continue to build these projects bit by bit we are starting to connect to existing facilities. The Brighton trail will eventually connect to Hamburg and has the potential to go to the Clark County line,” said Keith Lovan, the project’s manager. “I am also pleased that we were able to preserve the tree canopy on this trail.”
Parking for the trail is at Pleasant Ridge Park, 1350 Pleasant Ridge Drive.