Early last month, the state Board of Transportation agreed to grant the easement for a one-time payment of $3 million. NCDOT said the details of the easement agreement had not been worked out.

News of the potential easement caught trail users and local government officials by surprise. They worried that clearing a 30-foot swath of trees and brush to the side of the trail would change its character. Opponents quickly organized to fight the idea, including two petitions on Change.org that received more than 5,900 signatures between them.

Montanez said the public opposition to the American Tobacco Trail route was not a factor in the decision to rule it out.

“We have been in the process of thoroughly evaluating multiple routes,” she wrote. “We have carefully considered the constructability, cost, impacts and other factors for each route. Based on our extensive evaluation, we have determined the route paralleling the American Tobacco Trail is not the preferred route.”

Dominion Energy says the planned pipeline would help provide gas to growing parts of Wake, Chatham, Durham and Orange counties and allow the company to reduce pressure in 73 miles of existing natural gas lines, prolonging their lifespans.