Energy Transportation Trails

Trails along power lines

Transmission line corridors are long, already cleared, and continuous across property lines. The question is whether they could carry bike and hike trails, the way the American Tobacco Trail reuses an old rail line.

This map splits every Duke Energy easement in and around Durham County into segments of about half a mile and scores how promising each one is as a trail.

Top corridors

Segments that score highest. Click one to zoom to it.

How segments are scored

Each segment gets up to 100 points:

Connects networks: how many separate trail and bike networks, existing or planned, are within 500 ft. Two or more means the segment would close a gap.
Few easement deeds: deeds per mile. Each deed is a separate agreement that would need renegotiating.
Near planned facility: how much of the segment runs alongside a proposed trail or bike project.
Corridor width: room for a 12 ft trail plus clearance.
Length: full points at half a mile. Short pieces only score well if they connect something.

High is 60 or more, Medium 40–59, Low under 40.

Before anything gets built

Utility easements don't allow public trails. They give Duke Energy the right to run and maintain its lines. A trail would need new agreements with each property owner along the route, as well as with Duke Energy.
Duke Energy does allow shared-use paths in its corridors, up to 12 ft wide, as long as the lines stay accessible for maintenance and plantings stay low.
It's been done. Trails already run inside some Durham corridors, such as the neighborhood trail along the power line in Woodcroft. The map shows how much existing trail each segment already contains.
This is a screening tool, not an engineering study. The scores don't account for terrain, streams, road crossings or tree cover. A high score means a corridor is worth a closer look.

Learn more

Working with Duke Energy: how the Carolina Thread Trail builds in Duke Energy corridors (PDF)
Durham Trails and Greenways Master Plan
Durham Hike & Bike Map
Source code, data sources and method