By Eric Curl
May 22, 2023 – Runners, cyclists and nature lovers are once again able to enjoy all five miles of the McQueen’s Island Trail along the Savannah River, after damage caused by tropical storms in 2016 and 2017 shut off access to the waterfront trail along US 80 between Savannah and Tybee Island.
Chatham County recently reopened the remaining 3-mile stretch on the trail’s west end, after the first 2-mile segment west of Fort Pulaski’s entrance of US 80 was reopened last summer.
While the entire trail is now accessible, work is ongoing. County staff is working on a plan to repair a section of sea wall on the newly opened portion of the trail that is starting to compromise, according to Holly Holdsworth, deputy director of Chatham County’s Parks & Recreation department. The failing sea wall was one of the first ones built during the rebuild work after the hurricanes and engineers later adjusted the design for the other sections to prevent similar issues, Holdsworth said. The county also plans to make some repairs to benches, picnic tables and bridge railings that were not part of the scope of the project.
“Having open natural trail access for the public is something that has been stressed as very important from the community and something we are striving to offer,” Holdsworth said. “We have just a handful of trail systems available and (McQueen’s) is unique and an interesting one to have in our inventory.”
First approved by the Chatham County Commission in December 2018, the trail stabilization project’s completion has been delayed multiple times – with costs increasing from almost $1.5 million to almost $2.6 million – due to storms and high tides. Before the project even began, the trail was extensively damaged by several extreme high tide events, resulting in the need for additional materials, according to county officials. New funds were also reportedly required to comply with state requirements to remove the midpoint access on US 80 near the Bull River Bridge.
Visitors now have to park at the eastern entrance to the trail at the Fort Pulaski entrance. The former midpoint parking lot and access point about a mile past the Bull River bridge has been permanently closed by the Georgia Department of Transportation to address US 80 traffic concerns.
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