Pontotoc becoming Hub for Tanglefoot Trail Bike Path

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PONTOTOC, Miss. (WCBI) — Pontotoc wants to the become the bicycling hub of the Northeast Mississippi.
On Saturday bicycling enthusiasts gathered near the 25 mile marker of the Tanglefoot Trail in Pontotoc. The third annual Tangelfoot bike ride was to raise money for the Itawamba Community College Foundation, so it can in turn provide scholarships to qualified students. Foundation Director Jim Ingram says this is the perfect venue for their fundraiser.
“The tie-in to Tanglefoot trail. We have a lot of good students who come from Pontotoc,” he points out. “It’s a beautiful facility. A day to have good exercise and a day to raise money for the college. The last two years we’ve raised roughly 25-thousand dollars total on this event. We hope to raise another 10 to 15-thousand again this year to help out the college,” Ingram hopes.
On hand for today’s event was Pontotoc Mayor Jeff Stafford, who is excited about the development along the trail in his city.
“We’re building four pavillions a little round about, a small biking area and restrooms, he says. “It’s going to be a good place to gather, have events. We’ll have room for pick nicking. It will be a great space for people to enjoy,” he explains.
There is already a warmup area here so participants can stretch before hitting the trail. And there is also some bicycle art to add to the ambience.
Just as Tupelo’s central location makes it the perfect location for the hub of the Natchez Trace Parkway, with New Albany to the North and Houston to the South Pontotoc is the logical choice as the hub of the Tanglefoot Trail. Don Locke is the trail manager.
“They have the ambition of becoming the hub to the Tanglefoot Trail, being about halfway between New Albany and Houston and they’re doing a lot here, ” he says. “I think it’s a good comparison with what Tupelo is to the Natchez Trace, Pontotoc aspires to be the Tanglefoot Trail,”Locke notes.
Stafford says the total cost for the project will be a half a million dollars, and they hope to have the hub portion completed sometime this summer.