NORFOLK, Va. — Editor's note: The video above is about public transit in Norfolk amid high gas prices. It aired on June 20.
The Elizabeth River Trail Foundation broke ground on The Glowline in Norfolk Tuesday. When completed, it will be an 800-foot concrete trail that lights up in the dark, the first of its kind on the East Coast.
The trail will have light-sensitive aggregate stones that will absorb UV/UB sunlight during the day and glow an intense green during the night. Overnight, the light of the stones will fade and then recharge during the day.
The trail will wrap the northwest playing fields at Jeff Robertson Park in Norfolk with the design pattern of a fiddlehead fern.
The foundation picked Jeff Robertson Park because it’s one of the least illuminated sections of the Elizabeth River Trail and is beloved by the community.
Taylor Construction is installing the path. Timmons Group engineered it, and Work Program Architects in Norfolk designed the fiddlehead fern stencil pattern outlined by the stones, the foundation said.
To build the path, the foundation is using money it raised during a capital campaign, as well as a sponsorship from Elizabeth River Crossings, the company that operates the Downtown and Midtown Tunnels.
“The health of the Elizabeth River and the vitality of this trail that surrounds it are very important to us," Anna Bonet, CEO of Elizabeth River Crossings, said.
“To be able to finally break ground after pandemic setbacks is so special," Kindra Greene, executive director of the Elizabeth River Trail Foundation, said.
The project is expected to take about six weeks, and there will be detours in place during the construction. For more information about the routes, visit the Elizabeth River Trail Foundation's website.