Oct. 1, 2026
Jonathan Rich
BrevardBeagle.com
After months of small but important updates about how the final product will look and what it could include, Wednesday afternoon members of the Ecusta Trail Advisory Board had a major announcement to share: the city of Brevard officially has the money to build the remaining eight miles of the 19-mile outdoor trail connecting downtown Hendersonville with downtown Brevard.
“This is a momentous day for Brevard and all of Transylvania County,” said Brevard City Councilman and ETAB Board Co-chair Aaron Baker. “Our neighbors in Henderson County are already enjoying the economic, social, cultural and health benefits of the first six miles of the Ecusta Trail completed in 2025. We’ve been working diligently behind the scenes and patiently waiting to learn whether our funding would cover the entire cost of construction. Now, there is no doubt. The Ecusta Trail is coming to Brevard.”
Brevard’s section of the Ecusta Trail has reached the 65% design mark and McAdams, the Charlotte-based McAdams engineering firm hired to design the pedestrian path, confirmed that based on current cost estimates the Transylvania portion of the project will cost $26.2 million. The project will begin construction during the summer of 2027 and is scheduled to take 18-24 months to complete.
“Now that we know where we stand financially, we may be able to start talking about a strategy to include these facilities,” Hooper explained during Wednesday’s ETAB meeting, “but if we do, that strategy should be executed after the trail project is bid.”
The $26.2 million in estimated construction costs will pay for a 12-foot-wide paved trail with thermoplastic markings, signalized road crossings, concrete-decked bridges, new or improved drainage infrastructure, roadside guardrails, retaining walls, barriers, fencing, screening landscaping, half-mile markers, and two covered bench areas.
In 2022, the city of Brevard received $1 million in grant funding from the Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP) and in 2023 officials received a $24.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Program.
The city has also been awarded a North Carolina’s State Capital and Infrastructure Fund (SCIF) grant in addition to contributions from individuals and corporate donors, including $1 million from the Transylvania County Tourism Development Authority and $7.5 million and $100,000 donations from the Friends of the Ecusta Trail and Conserving Carolina environmental agency.
Because of the nature of the grant funds, the overall project costs do not include new restroom facilities or additional parking lots along the multi-modal path which will connect Brevard, Etowah, Horse Shoe, Town of Laurel Park, and Hendersonville.
McAdams Engineering
“Although the significant funding is federal tax dollars currently, no county tax dollars are committed to the project,” said Transylvania County Commissioner and ETAB member Larry Chapman regarding the funding announcement. “There continues to be questions from county citizens regarding who will provide security along the trail. This will require coordination and a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Transylvania County Sheriff department and Brevard Police Department. Another concern I have been asked about regards the bathroom facilities. Currently, the locations or number of facilities have not been identified, nor have detailed plans been developed. We are still working on some specific details, and I am confident these issues will be addressed well before the trail is completed.”
“Having the 65% engineering drawings and a reliable cost estimate that falls within our available funding means we can realistically move forward as quickly as possible toward construction,” said Brevard Mayor Maureen Copelof in response to questions from BrevardBeagle.com following the announcement. “Four years ago we made some major assumptions and estimates when we applied for the RAISE grant. This week validated those assumptions and validated the commitment that the City of Brevard made to this project. I’m proud of the collaboration with our many partners that brought us to where we are today. This is one of the most important projects the City of Brevard has undertaken. When complete, it will truly be transformative for our community. Hopefully this week’s news excites our community. We’ll keep everyone posted as we continue to lead this project to completion.”