With the first segment of the Dick and Willie Passage Trail’s Phase-6A now open, construction of the second phase is ready to get underway in March, according to Roger Adams, director of Henry County Parks and Recreation.
The recently completed section, Phase 1, is an extension of the original 4.5-mile section that runs from Virginia Avenue trailhead to Mulberry Creek. Work on the 1.75-mile addition that runs along Mulberry Creek towards Spruce Street was completed early last month.
“I think this is the most beautiful section of the trail,” Adams wrote on the county’s social media. “They are all pretty, but this is the most gorgeous section being along Mulberry Creek the whole way and there is a little waterfall and lots of wildlife down there. It’s really pretty.”
The response to the new section has been great, Adams said, and added that many people agree with his estimation that it’s one of the most beautiful sections of the trail.
He added that the closet trailhead to the new section is at Fisher Street. Several people have been parking on the side of the road at Fischel Street to shorten the walk a bit.
Construction of 6A, Phase 2 – which will cross Mulberry Creek and extend to and across Spruce Street – uses the existing sidewalks to the Spruce Trailhead, and about 2 miles long should start around the middle of March, with completion expected in October.
“Depending on the weather,” Adams said the start of the build may be as early as mid-March.
A second section (6B) from a new trailhead at Spruce Street to the Smith River Sports Complex was established in 2019. It is approximately 2.7 miles in length and was funded by the Harvest Foundation, an organization founded through the sale of Martinsville’s Memorial Hospital, Adams said of the standalone section that was built at the time “because we had all the easements and paperwork done.”
He added that for 4 or 5 years, the trail has been in sections in different areas. “You couldn’t walk the whole thing without getting in your car and driving” to another section.
Following the completion of 6A, Phase 2, the two sections will connect, making a continuous 11 miles of paved trail from Virginia Avenue to the sports complex.
Partnering with the county on funding for the project are the Appalachian Regional Commission, Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Harvest Foundation, Adams said, and was quick to note that the completion of the upcoming trail portion will not mark the end of the trail system.
“We’re going to build from Virginia Ave. and go towards Fieldale,” Adams said. That phase of the project is currently in the preliminary and engineering phases.
The Dick and Willie Passage Rail Trail Phase 1-5 was constructed in 2010 and extends 4.5 miles from the Virginia Ave. trailhead to Mulberry Creek. The initial trail was constructed on the former Danville and Western Railroad track, and stopped at Mulberry Creek. Once part of the Norfolk Southern Railroad, the Danville and Western was affectionately named the “Dick and Willie.” Locals who desired a modern way to connect the towns of Danville and Stuart raised the funds through the sales of “subscriptions” to construct the rail and completed the line to Stuart in 1884.
