MTO: Agency donates Ocmulgee land

The Georgia Department of Transportation announced Monday that it had acquired 245 acres along the Ocmulgee River that it will give to the Trust for Public Land to be used as a wetlands-conservation area.

Commissioner Wayne Shackelford announced GDOT purchased the land, located across the river from the Town Creek Reservoir, to conserve the wetlands and use the acreage as a wetlands mitigation bank for minor projects in the Middle Georgia area. Whenever GDOT has a project, the department must conserve an equal amount of wetlands acreage as it destroys during the building process. By purchasing the land, GDOT will get credit for 245 acres of wetlands conservation.

"We're very pleased that we could both meet our needs and protect Ocmulgee River land," Shackelford said.

"This is just a win-win," added Norma Casal, of the Trust for Public Land. "This is the first time we've been able to work with DOT on a project this size. They were able to use the site as a mitigation bank, and we're able to conserve it."

The site also could be used as an extension on the Ocmulgee Heritage Greenway, although there are no firm plans for that now. There are 13 acres between the waterworks site, a 260-acre tract that the Macon Water Authority donated to the greenway project, and the new conservation site. Currently, plans for the greenway extend from Central City Park to the waterworks site.

"That's certainly something we can look forward to," Casal said. "But for now, we'll just keep it 100 percent natural. We're not planning to do anything at all right now."

The announcement was held at the Gateway Park site, located at the corner of Martin Luther King Boulevard and Riverside Drive. Greenway officials had hoped to have a ground-breaking ceremony for the park Monday as well, but it appears that is still a few weeks away.

"We're anxious to get going," said Andrea Williford, executive director of the greenway project. "It should be very soon. We're almost ready for it now. We already have all the funding (for Gateway Park), we just have a few details to work out."

The seven-mile greenway trail from the waterworks to Central City will cost $8.5 million, and $4.5 million has already been raised, including an $800,000 grant from GDOT and $200,000 each from the city and county.

Gateway Park will be the first area of the trail built and should be completed by next summer. Construction on Water Works Park should begin later this year and take about one year to complete. There are also plans for a pedestrian bridge that will connect Central City Park to the Ocmulgee National Monument. The project received a $100,000 grant through the Recreational Trails Program of the Department of Natural Resources for the bridge.

"I can't wait until we have some concrete down here," said Mike Anthony, director of the Macon-Bibb County Department of Parks and Recreation. "Once it gets going, people are going to be very excited."