Pierce Park Trails To Expand To Mall of Georgia
Construction is under way to link the park to the Ivy Creek Greenway.
The Gwinnett County Commissioners approved in October a plan to create a link between George Pierce Park and the Ivy Creek Greenway trail. Construction of the linking trail began last month and is expected to complete in May, according to Marcia Diaz, Greenspace Planner for Gwinnett County.
This is great news for Suwanee residents because the resulting trail will provide a path between the Suwanee Creek Greenway trail head on Buford Highway and the Ivy Creek Greenway trail end at the Mall of Georgia.
Currently the Suwanee Creek Greenway trail is connected to the George Pierce Park trails with an unpaved trail that starts on a bridge near Suwanee Elementary School. For the new trail connector, a press release from Gwinnett County indicates "there will be a trailhead near the adult softball parking lot with benches and signage, almost a mile of paved, multi-purpose trail with retaining walls, and 1,850 feet of boardwalk with scenic overlooks. New concrete steps near the lower parking area for the soccer fields will connect to an existing gravel trail."
Suwanee residents may be unfamiliar with the the existing Ivy Creek Greenway. It currently runs from the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center to the Mall of Georgia. The expansion will connect the Heritage Center to George Pierce Park.
The project is funded from the 2005 SPLOST program. JD James, Inc. presented the lowest bid for the work at $1.02 million.
Additionally, portions of the natural surface trails at George Pierce Park are temporarily closed for renovation and expected to open during the spring/summer 2011. This includes the area where park trail connects to the Suwanee Creek Greenway. Residents should be patient and obey any closure signs while the county completes this work to enhance the green space in the community.
Bob Williams
8:08 pm on Thursday, January 13, 2011
I received a follow-up email from Marci Diaz with Gwinnett County indicating the total length of the trail from the Suwanee Creek trail-head to the Ivy Creek end point will be about 9.5 miles.
Andy
10:26 pm on Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Isn't this project just the mile or so from near L'ville Suwanee Road to the Adult softball fields at George Pierce? As far as I understand, there will still be an unfinished (and unfunded) segment from George Pierce, across Westbrook, under Satellite and I-985 before connecting to the Ivy Creek Greenway?
Bob Williams
9:07 pm on Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Hi Andy. All of the information from the press release and from Marci Diaz indicates the trail will be a continuous path. All of it is funded with SPLOST dollars.
Richard
2:37 pm on Thursday, September 29, 2011
they have done a beautiful job with the new trail and boardwalk in GP Park - any updates on when the portion from there up to the GEHC along Ivy Creek might be started??
Brendan Moriarty
3:54 pm on Friday, March 2, 2012
Hello - I'm also wondering if there was any further information as to when the trail from George Pierce will connect to the GEHC. Congratulations on a very fine park system!
Bob Williams
7:10 pm on Monday, March 5, 2012
@Richard and @Brendan - I asked Marcie Diaz, Greenspace Planner for Gwinnett County, for an update. She replied with the following:
"The first section of the Ivy Creek Greenway has been constructed within George Pierce Park. The continuation of the greenway trail to the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center is divided into two sections. The section that leads from the heritage center to I-985 is scheduled to be under construction this year. The section from I-985 to George Pierce Park does not have a construction date set at this time."
Jeff Timmons
4:26 pm on Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Is there a map available showing the future planned route of the link between George Pierce Park and the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center?
Also, they recently started the work renovating the Suwnaee Creek Greenway between Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road and George Pierce Park, closing that section; what is the estimated completion and reopening date for that, and will that include renovating the bridge over Suwanee Creek linking the Greenway to the paths in George Pierce Park?
I run and bike on these trails several times a week, and look forward to eventually being able to take a longer bike all the way up to the Mall of Georgia.
edwin
3:37 am on Saturday, September 15, 2012
I too was wondering about a map displaying the future path of this new extending trail.
Bob Williams
8:56 am on Sunday, September 16, 2012
@Jeff and @Edwin - I found a map on page 19 of this document - http://www.gwinnettcounty.com/static/departments/parks_rec/2007_CIP/CIP_Executive_Summary_November_2007.pdf
It's not very detailed but may give you some idea of the expansion route.