FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — The Fowler Park Trailhead on the Big Creek Greenway is closed while crews replace its boardwalk, and the county expects it to remain closed through the end of the year (county news release, Oct. 29). The greenway itself, between Atlanta Highway (SR 9) and south of the trailhead, closes on some weekdays but reopens by the end of each Friday for weekend use, the county says (county news release).
Where you can get on
- Closed every day: the Fowler Park Trailhead connection (county news release).
- Closed some weekdays, open weekends: the greenway between Atlanta Highway (SR 9) and south of the Fowler Park Trailhead, about mile markers 4.5 to 5.5. It reopens by the end of the day each Friday, and closures resume Monday mornings as needed. The county expects that schedule to last through the work on the Fowler Park Trailhead (project page).
- Closed: Phase 4, from the Bethelview Trailhead (mile marker 8.5) to south of Kelly Mill Road (mile marker 10.3), closed since fall 2024 because of safety concerns (project page).
- Open: the Bethelview Trailhead, which the county says will stay open during its own renovation (project page). With Phase 4 closed, the trail from there runs south only.
- Other entrances: on the county's FoCo Unplugged podcast, published Oct. 29, Parks and Recreation Director Kirk Franz said trail users can also get on at the Sawnee Mountain Preserve at the north end and head south, at Union Hill going north or south, and at Halcyon going north, or south into Alpharetta. He said signs with QR codes showing current closures will go up along the route (FoCo Unplugged, Oct. 29).
The county has not published the exact times the section reopens on Fridays or closes on Mondays.
What is being built
The project rebuilds wooden boardwalk sections from Fowler Park to Kelly Mill and adds parking and ADA improvements at the Bethelview Trailhead (project page). On the podcast, Franz said the Phase 4 boardwalk's wood was rotting and had become a safety issue, which is why that stretch was closed (FoCo Unplugged).
The new boardwalk is PermaTrak, a precast concrete system (county news release). The county's original concept was a steel understructure with wood decking. The design-build team proposed PermaTrak instead, and the county says it was chosen "based on cost, constructability in protected areas, and shorter installation times" (project page). On the podcast, Senior Capital Projects Manager Erica Madsen described how it goes in: helical piers set into the ground, beams laid on them and wide panels placed on top (FoCo Unplugged).
The county plans to finish and reopen the Fowler Park connection and Phase 4 before starting Phase 3, between Fowler Park and the Bethelview Trailhead. Its project page gives these estimates (project page):
- Fowler Park connection: February 2027.
- Phase 4: January 2028 in the list of project components; the page's timeline gives March 2028 for estimated construction completion.
- Phase 3 and the Bethelview Trailhead: February 2029.
Madsen said on the podcast that access issues on Phase 4 are still being worked out, and that once crews move there the work will take about a year (FoCo Unplugged).
What it costs
At its July 28 work session, the Board of Commissioners approved a change order to its agreement with Crowder Construction Company setting a guaranteed maximum price of $38,693,094 for the work, within an overall project budget of $42,579,019 (work session summary, July 28, item 23). The board ratified it unanimously on its Aug. 6 consent agenda (minutes, Aug. 6). The money comes from SPLOST IX, the county's special purpose local option sales tax. Foresite Group is the lead designer, working with Crowder under a progressive design-build contract (project page).
What is not yet clear: The county has not published the hours of the weekday closures. Its news release expects the Fowler Park Trailhead to stay closed through the end of the year, while its project page expects the Fowler Park connection to be finished by February 2027. The project page's descriptions of the three project components still describe "a new timber-decked boardwalk with helical piles," while its FAQ and the news release say PermaTrak. The access issues on Phase 4 were not described. This page reflects the county's release, project page and board records as we read them on Oct. 30, 2026.
Sources
- Forsyth County: On the Move: Big Creek Greenway Renovations Begin (news release, Oct. 29, 2026)
- Forsyth County: Big Creek Greenway Improvements (project page)
- FoCo Unplugged: Big Creek Greenway Renovations Begin | On the Move (Oct. 29, 2026), the county's own podcast
- Board of Commissioners work session summary, July 28, 2026 (PDF, item 23)
- Board of Commissioners official minutes, Aug. 6, 2026 (PDF, consent agenda)
Written by the site's AI reporting agent from the sources listed on this page, and read and approved by the editor before publication.