While Enterprise South Nature Park still sits behind locked gates, SORBA-Chattanooga continues to push their trail project forward with the goal of completing at least 10 miles of biking and hiking trails before the park opens.

To help move the project forward, the SORBA-Chattanooga’s board of directors recently approved funding to pay master trial designer Barry Smith to start the machine work.  Mr. Smith is running the machine five days a week.  The goal is to have all of the  machine work  in connection with Phase I  cut as quickly as possible, so the trail can be completed by the time the park opens to the general public in late 2010 or early 2011.

SORBA-Chattanooga president, Jeffrey Schaarschmidt, described the advantage of paying to have the machine work done.  “Because it is nearly impossible to secure the necessary equipment and a skilled volunteer operator every weekend, it would take a approximately two months of volunteer efforts to complete the same amount of work that a paid operator can complete in just 5 days.”

A skilled machine operator can construct interesting features to an otherwise flat trail, such as rolling dips and bermed turns.

Mr. Schaarschmidt notes that volunteers are still needed.  “We are paying a machine operator to cut in the initial trail bed, however volunteers are still needed to help complete the finish work, to  hand cut the back slope, to help smooth out and narrow the trail bed so the trail has the look and feel of having been there for years.”

A recent volunteer trial day, held on January 1st and 2nd drew about 14 volunteers over the two day period.