Swannanoa River Greenway

Overview

The Swannanoa River Greenway starts at the intersection of Lyman Street and Amboy Road and ends at the city limits located at Azalea Road and Tunnel Road. At seven and a half miles in length, the project will be broken into phases rather than completed simultaneously.

This video provides a more detailed explanation of Swannanoa River Greenway project. (Construction timelines have changed since the creation of the video.)

Happening Now

Construction on Segment 1 of the Swannanoa River Greenway will begin in 2024 and is estimated to take 12 months to be completed. This segment begins at the intersection of Glendale Ave and Thompson St. At a little over one mile in length, this phase will end at the WalMart on Bleachery Avenue. Future phases of the greenway will be largely implemented in conjunction with NCDOT’s Swannanoa River Road Improvements project.

Next Milestone: Construction kickoff

Background

The Swannanoa River Greenway project is a 2016 voter-approved Transportation Bond project and was identified as the City’s number one priority greenway in the GAP Plan. The project is also part of the future 100-mile Fonta Flora State Trail, connecting Morganton to Asheville.

Below is an image of the first segment of the Swannanoa River Greenway, to be built in 2024/2025.

In 2018, The City of Asheville conducted two studies on different segments of the Swannanoa River Greenway:

Swannanoa River Greenway Feasibility Study (Phase 1) was a feasibility study and greenway corridor design on the eastern end of the greenway starting at the intersection of Thompson St and Glendale Ave and ending at the City of Asheville’s park complex with the Nature Center, Recreation Park and JB Lewis Soccer Fields. This study included the design for the first segment of the greenway from Thompson St to Bleachery Blvd.
Swannanoa River Greenway Corridor Study (Phase 2) was a planning study funded through the NCDOTs Bike and Pedestrian Mini-Grant Program for the section of the greenway that starts at Biltmore Avenue and ends at the intersection of Thompson Street at Glendale Ave. This did not include engineering and design in the scope of work.