Little Sugar Creek Greenway to reopen from Morehead Street to Freedom Park
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For nearly three years, runners and walkers have had to take a detour along Kings Drive, which requires crossing a busy intersection. Photo: Ashley Mahoney/Axios
A long-awaited mile of Little Sugar Creek Greenway between Morehead Street and Freedom Park reopens this week.
Why it matters: Greenway users have waited about three years to travel uninterrupted along this section of one of Charlotte's most popular greenways.
Context: Little Sugar Creek between Morehead Street and East Boulevard closed in spring 2022 for Atrium Health's main campus expansion and a Charlotte Water project. Construction delays pushed back the project.
The mile stretch of greenway, which is entirely concrete, has:
- Five access points, including East Boulevard, Blythe Boulevard, Morehead Street and two on Leon Levine Drive.
- Plus, wider paths, better flood control and three small bridges.
- The roughly $18 million project, funded by Atrium Health, also includes a new bridge for cars that goes over Little Sugar Creek and other road modifications.
What's next: You'll have to wait a little longer to use all of Little Sugar Creek uninterrupted, as a small section remains closed for Charlotte Museum of Nature construction further south. This closure reroutes you through Freedom Park.
- A ribbon cutting for the new section is scheduled for 11am Thursday, March 27, on the section of greenway near the hospital.
Zoom out: The greenway revamp is part of a nearly decade-long project for Atrium Health's main campus, Steve Haemmerle, Atrium Health's assistant VP of hospital operations, tells Axios.
- Atrium Health's 1.1 million square-foot tower will add 448 beds, half of which will be for ICU, and is expected to be complete by the third quarter of 2027 Haemmerle says.
