HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – During the May 6 Hopkinsville City Council meeting, officials approved a grant application that would help fund an addition to the Rail Trail. The grant funds will be used towards the design and construction of the third and final phase of the Hopkinsville Greenway Rail Trail, which includes building a bridge over the bypass to conclude the trail at Tie Breaker Park.

The entire project would cost just over $6.9 million dollars, with the grant stipulating that the city would be required to pay 20% of that total in match funds, up to $1.3 million. The Transportation Alternatives Program would be supplying the grant, which is part of the Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration and administered by KYTC.

Three phase plan, next steps

The Hopkinsville Greenway is a paved walking and biking trail system that began in 2001 when the Pennyrile Rail Trail Foundation was formed with the goal of utilizing the abandoned Fort Campbell rail spur as a walkable trail. Currently, the trail stretches from Riverwalk to Pardue Lane. This new addition would add additional mileage, ending the trail at Tie Breaker Park. Creating the trail in three phases has continually been the goal of the city since the Rail Trail’s inception.

Additional information from the Mayor’s Office explained that there is no guarantee that they will receive the funding now that the application has been submitted. In previous years, the recipients of this particular grant were not announced until fall, so council members will not proceed with further action until then. If and when the grant is awarded, a timeline for construction will be discussed.

Pursuing this grant was first proposed in June of 2024, and brought up again at the April committee of the whole meeting. During this meeting, Hopkinsville Mayor J.R. Knight expressed that their original plan was to expand underneath the bypass, but the flood and safety risk it posed led to the proposed bridge construction.

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