The City of Union Point has been awarded $2.7 million in federal and state grants to build a Firefly Trail trailhead in downtown and connect it to the current end of the trail near Carlton Street.

Eighty percent of the funds will come from the Federal Highway Administration’s Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) while the remaining 20% will be covered by GDOT’s Transportation Trust Fund

“A grant of this size is a game-changer for Union Point and will bring the Firefly Trail right into the heart of our business district,” said Mayor Lanier Rhodes. “It’s possible because GDOT was able to cover the local match required by the federal grant. Small towns like Union Point just don’t have that kind of money, so we are gratified that the state sees the potential for this project to revitalize our city and eastern Greene County.

“With this grant, the completion of every inch of the Firefly Trail within Greene County is in sight, and that feels great,” said Mary Cook, president of Firefly Trail, Inc. (FTI), a non-profit organization that promotes the trail and assists local communities with its creation. “All the supporters of the Firefly Trail owe an enormous debt of gratitude to the mayor and city council, Rep. Trey Rhodes, Trail Development Coordinator John Kissane, and the folks at GDOT and the Federal Highway Administration for making this dream a reality.”

GDOT has partnered with Texas-based Atlas Technical Consultants to manage the project through Atlas’s Georgia offices. Atlas has a 35-year history of partnering with GDOT. Work will be undertaken in three phases: preliminary engineering, right-of-way acquisition and construction.

The award expands on a 5.8-mile project completed by Greene County in 2023 that bridged North Rhodes Street and connected to a 0.7-mile trail segment built earlier by Union Point. When the connection to Union Point’s business district is finished, Greene County residents and visitors will be able to walk, run, bike, skate or use other non-motorized modes of transportation all the way from downtown Union Point to the Oglethorpe County line.

“The best part of expanding the Firefly Trail is seeing so many of our local people come out to get exercise in the fresh air,” said Union Point native Lisa Baynes, a member of FTI’s Board of Directors. “The trail is separated from the road so it’s a really safe place to walk, run or ride, and it has answered an unmet need in this area. Even here in little Union Point, we’re seeing about 1,000 people a month using the trail, and that’s before it connects to downtown or up to Maxeys.”

Ultimately, the trail will extend about 39 miles from Union Point to Athens, on or near the historic corridor of the Georgia Railroad Athens Branch, where possible. Currently, about 12 miles of the trail are open, including sections in Union Point, Greene County, Woodville, Maxeys, Winterville and Athens. Athens-Clarke County is currently working on completing the trail between Hancock Road and Winterville’s 5 Points intersection and Maxeys will soon complete a second mile of trail thanks to an award from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Recreational Trails Program.