Morgan City signs on to Atchafalaya Gateway Trail

East St. Mary Parish now has an Atchafalaya Gateway Trail.
The Morgan City Council on Tuesday passed a resolution that makes the city one of the founding partners in the designation of the trail. It will link walking and bike trails in Morgan City and Berwick via the Long-Allen bridge.
The Berwick Town Council passed the same resolution July 14.
Berwick had the area’s first trail, a 4.2-mile paved path.
Morgan City is developing its own trail system with support from the H&B Young Foundation and a $16.7 million federal Raise grant.
The St. Mary Excel citizens group has promoted the idea of linking the trails. “The importance of a unified trail system was recognized by the 2018 Urban Land Institute Advisory Service Panel study,” the resolution said.
Excel commissioned the Urban Land Institute study of Morgan City and Berwick.
The resolution authorizes city officials “to coordinate the development, branding, and maintenance and promotion of the Atchafalaya Gateway Trail, with St. Mary Excel, its Atchafalaya River Coast Hub (ARCH) initiative, the Atchafalaya Trace Commission, the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area, the Cajun Coast Convention & Convention Bureau, and other agencies and organizations."
The resolution invites municipalities and communities across the parish, and agencies such as the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the St. Mary Levee District, to join the new trail system.
The resolution “endorses a consistent name, logo, signage and wayfinding standard for the Atchafalaya Gateway Trail.”
But “the Atchafalaya Gateway Trail serves as a shared, unifying identity and does not replace or diminish any community’s own trail name.”
The crown in the center of the trail system, the La. 182 bridge, remains closed after three years of extensive rehabilitation. Officials say it’s expected to be open again this fall.
—Bill Decker