Mill Line Project Nearing Completion
Thursday, January 4th, 2023
The Mill Line is almost online, and the exciting project was the focus of City Administrator Andrew Parker's address to the Dalton Civitan Club on Wednesday. The trail connection between Haig Mill Lake Park and the old Eagle Walk Trailhead on Chattanooga Avenue is nearing completion and is expected to be open in early February.
Caption: Dalton City Administrator Andrew Parker speaks to the Dalton Civitan Club Wednesday
Parker was invited to update the members of the Dalton Civitan Club on the progress of the project. He opened his remarks with a recap of the project's history, which dates back to the 2005 donation of land near Mill Creek to the City of Dalton by Paul Belk and the late Horace Sewell. Several years later, in 2010, City leaders developed a plan to create a more "walkable" city with green spaces and trail connections. That plan led to the creation of a trail system at Mount Rachel and in the Crown Mill area. In 2015, voters approved a SPLOST measure (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) which included funding to create Haig Mill Lake Park which features a 3.1 mile walking trail around the lake. In 2021, the Dalton Mayor and Council appropriated funding to what is now known as "the Mill Line," a paved trail connection connecting the park's trail system to trail heads on Chattanooga Avenue and Mallard Road.
"This is probably what I think is one of the most exciting projects to take place in the community in some time," Parker said. "Many years of planning has resulted in where we are today."
The Mill Line mostly follows the footprint of the old Eagle Walk Trail, a footpath created by local Boy Scouts along Mill Creek. The new trail consists of a 10-foot wide paved trail suitable for bicyclists, runners, and walkers. Planning and construction for the project was a complex endeavor as multiple agencies and organizations including Georgia's Department of Transportation and Environmental Protection Division needed to approve designs and permitting for the project because of its proximity to highways and waterways. Planning also called for the creation of retaining walls and pedestrian bridges. After nearly two years of work, the project was finally awarded to Northwest Georgia Paving in January 2023. Construction started in June and is expected to be completed by the end of January.
Caption: The portion of the Mill Line Trail passing underneath the North Dalton Bypass along Mill Creek is seen in this December 2023 photo
"(Creation of urban greenway trails) is something statewide and across the country that cities and urban locations are trying to do because it creates synergy around redevelopment and reinvestment," Parker said. "For anyone who's been to Atlanta's Belt Line, it was an abandoned rail line that's been converted to a really extensive trail system around the city and the untold reinvestment that's occurred (there) with mixed use development, retail, residential, it's just really excited the entire area. Other communities have done this, like Gainesville, and others, so this is really Dalton's version of it."
A $25,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia was recently awarded to enhance the project with the installation of benches and signage along the Mill Line path. Additionally, Dalton Utilities completed work in December to install street lights along the path so it can be used after sundown.
"We also hope to, at some point, (create) some fishing piers along the trail because rumor has it there's some really decent, really big carp in Mill Creek and also some pretty nice bass believe it or not," Parker told the Civitan Club. "If you're familiar with the Waterfall Park at College Drive... doing something like that that kinda overlooks Mill Creek in various places so you'll have the opportunity to fish or just look out over the water."
Dogs will be allowed on the Mill Line Trail as long as they are leashed and attended. Because Haig Mill Lake is a drinking water reservoir, state regulations prohibit dogs inside of Haig Mill Lake Park and there will be signs posted at the trail connection to the park to remind visitors that they can't take their dogs inside.
The completion of the Mill Line is not the end of the road for the trail project. Ultimately, the vision of the project as conceived back in 2010 is for there to be a trail connection between Haig Mill Lake Park and downtown Dalton. City leaders have already convened meetings of stakeholder groups in Dalton's cycling and recreation community to discuss different routes that the trail connection between the Eagle Walk area and downtown may take. Funding to construct that trail connection is anticipated to be part of the 2024 SPLOST referendum on the May 2024 ballot.
