Ed McBrayer thinks big.

And so it came as no surprise last week when he said he thought Cedartown could soon evolve into a destination city for users of the Silver Comet Trail.

McBrayer, who serves as executive chairman for Georgia’s PATH Foundation, has been a driving force behind the construction of the Polk County leg of the recreational trail.

“I think downtown Cedartown will benefit greatly from hundreds of new visitors each day when the Comet and the Chief Ladiga trails are joined,” McBrayer said. The Chief Ladiga Trail in Alabama connects with the Silver Comet at the state line.

McBrayer envisions more development like restaurants and specialty shops near the Cedartown Depot, which now serves as a resting point for trail travelers.

“It’s important to have a vision and to plan ahead. A lot of people will be coming into Cedartown milling around. We should try and figure out how to make downtown Cedartown a destination city.”

That being said, it was a very excited McBrayer that accepted a $150,000 contribution from Cedartown’s W.D. Trippe Trust Fund last Thursday to apply towards the completion of the trail.

With the exception of a two-mile segment near the Cedartown bypass, the Silver Comet Trail stretches from Symrna to the Alabama state line.

That two-mile break in completion is due to the current expansion of the bypass. Once construction work is completed on the bypass, the Silver Comet will pass under a bridge that will span the length of the CSX track. The bridge will be located a stone’s throw away from Hutto Road.

McBrayer said the Trippe donation will help build that two-mile segment once the Georgia DOT gives the nod to begin work sometime next year.

“It means a lot for us to have support from the communities we serve,” he said. “The Trippe Trust has been a great partner to PATH. They recognized very early how important it was to bring the Silver Comet through downtown Cedartown. Without their generosity, I’m not sure we’d be just two miles away from a seamless Silver Comet.”

McBrayer, along with Cedartown’s Joe Anderson, recently wrapped up talks with property owners towards the east end of the city in order to complete 10 miles of the trail. “I’m half excited and half upset about ending that,” McBrayer said concerning the interaction with local residents. “We had such a nice time meeting everyone.”

McBrayer also said he sees a time seven or eight years down the road when Cedartown could eventually become the “epicenter” of the Silver Comet Trail. He said there are currently organized efforts to connect Chattanooga with the Silver Comet.

If that’s the case, Cedartown would be a centralized point when looking at the grand scheme of things.

“You would have complete trails from Chattanooga to Cedartown, or Symnra to Cedartown and then Cedartown to Anniston, Alabama.”

And while that brings a smile to McBrayer’s face, he’s also quick to point out that the Silver Comet is a rarity in the world of recreational trails.

“No one does a 12-foot wide, 5-inch thick, concrete path like the Silver Comet. No one has a trail like this. We didn’t want to do it more than once, so we did it right the first time.”