MST - Little River Route - Selma to Goldsboro

The FMST endorses using the Little River Corridor for the MST from Selma to Goldsboro.

January 2007

The Issue:

Route planning is now taking place on the MST East Plan in the Johnston County section. The route the MST will take from I-95 corridor down to Goldsboro has two known options – the Little River Corridor or the Neuse River Corridor.

Background Information:

From the very early stages of this project the FMST has supported the Little River Corridor for a variety of reasons:

• Avoids extensive wetlands known as the ”Letlones” that would be a maintenance nightmlare for volunteers. A fine example of this is the boardwalks that are continuing to be built in the Croatan Forest . Large sums of money will be spent on building boardwalks through this wetland area. A hurricane, tropical storm or even minor flooding could do severe damage to an extensive boardwalk trail network.

• More public lands already exist along the Little River Corridor. Examples are Clean Water Management Trust Fund, Cherry Hospital , NC Forest Service, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Transportation lands. Utilizing existing public lands is the key to fiscal responsibility during the planning and acquisition stages of the entire MST.

• Towns such as Selma , Pine Level, and Goldsboro have endorsed this idea by Town Council MOA. So the local interest is present. One of the key elements that the MST East Plan was “local government buy in.” The property manager for Cherry Hospital , NC Forest Service and Department of Agriculture, Eddie Pitzer, has mapped a route for the MST through these public lands. This would provide $1M in savings.

• More historical sites are along this route rather than the Neuse River Route . (Bentonville Battleground is 15 miles south of the Neuse River and too distant to be incorporated into that route). Near Pine Level is the site of the Civil War Battle of Moccasin Creek. Also nearby along Cornwallis Road , the British under Cornwallis chased down the first Wayne County Clerk of Court, James Cobb, and burned the court records. By fleeing with the records he prevented the British from burning the home of Josiah Sasser, the first courthouse in Wayne County , which still stands along Little River near Hwy 581. A few miles down the river is the site of the last encampment of the Union Army at the end of the Civil War, a large part of which is now a DOT conservation easement. This area contains two historical bridge sites. Hooks Little River Bridge and Kennedeys Bridge are both mentioned in Dyers Compendium. An abandoned railroad bed, known as the “Jack Collier Railroad”, also runs through this easement and would make federal rails to trails funding available to the MST. A short distance from Cherry Hospital the route incorporates the trails and facilities of Waynesborough Park before returning to the Neuse River corridor.

• The Little River is being considered for designation as a Wild and Scenic River . The NC Natural Heritage Trust Fund sponsored a study in Little River a few years ago which revealed the presence of 15 rare and endangered plant and animal species. These features along with the historical sites and high quality of the resource make it a viable candidate.

• The MST route will rejoin the Neuse River corridor near US 117 at Goldsboro .

Roadblocks for the Little River Route MST Route :

Since the beginning of this project it has been very obvious that the Department of Transportation has had a strong influence over this routing due to the fact that they have “deep pockets” for potential funding. For unknown political reasons the Letlones is a desired area that has been discussed as a possible future state park.

Power Point Presentations - Maps and Route Details

Johnston County

Wayne County

Document Produced by Jeff Brewer, FMST President, and Bob Getchell, Little River Task Force Leader.