Allison Daines, director of Buncombe County Parks and Recreation, told the Recreation Advisory Board on Sept. 9 that several major greenway projects paused after Hurricane Helene are restarting with revised scopes and schedules.

Daines said the Highway 251 segment of the Woodfin Greenway will be shortened after storm-driven stream bank erosion and ongoing negotiations with property owners, including the mill and MSD. The county plans to ask the Metropolitan Planning Organization and the N.C. Department of Transportation Board of Transportation to parcel out the northernmost portion so the remainder can move forward, Daines said.

"Because of that significant erosion ... we're reducing the project by about half a mile," said Chloe Donahoe, transportation planner with the county planning department. Donahoe said the revised terminus would stop near the northern campus of French Broad River Academy; the lost portion will remain in MPO plans but likely unfunded until further partners and stream-bank remediation are arranged.

On Beaver Dam Creek (the Elk Mountain Road area), Donahoe said the contractor resumed work in September after NCDOT lifted a pause on funded projects. The county submitted a change order to NCDOT to add roughly $150,000 for geotechnical work, retaining walls and a new pedestrian bridge. That amendment will go to NCDOT's office of inspector general for approval and is expected to take four to six weeks; final design is targeted for 2027 with construction anticipated in 2028.

"They are anticipating final design won't be done until 2027," Donahoe said. "Then we wouldn't be going to construction until '28."

The Inka Heritage Trail, which runs from Warrentange Drive along Harmony Creek past Buncombe County Sports Park, remains paused while the county negotiates easements and alignment with landowners, Daines said. JMT remains the contractor, but the county and partners are resolving easement obstacles before restarting.

Daines and Donahoe also noted that NCDOT recommended parceling the Highway 251 work to allow the majority of the project to proceed. Where erosion or private property issues prevent an immediate greenway, staff said they will pursue interim safe walkway connections for pedestrians.

County staff said the overall restart and redesign work has pushed timelines back roughly a year on many segments because of new surveying and stream-bank stabilization needs.

Ending: County staff said they will bring specific requests—including the termini revision and change-order approvals—before MPO and NCDOT boards in the fall and will provide detailed project timelines to the Recreation Advisory Board as those approvals proceed.