County Steps Closer to Southwest Trail Construction
After the Environmental Assessment was approved for the Southwest Trail in November 2020, the design team at Garver USA initiated a corridor topographic and right-of-way survey, along with preliminary engineering.
Surveying is now complete, and the preliminary design for the trail is well underway for the 4.25-miles of Pulaski County-owned right-of-way, beginning at Hilaro Springs Road and ending at the Saline County line. Within this stretch of the trail, three pedestrian bridges will be constructed to accommodate the trail. Pulaski County has received FLAP grant funding to build all three pedestrian bridges.
The survey teams are almost finished collecting data for the first 7-miles of trail in Saline County, starting from the Pulaski County line. Preliminary engineering for that segment will commence later this summer.
In July, Pulaski and Saline Counties worked together to submit a RAISE Grant application to the U.S. Department of Transportation for $25 million. If awarded, the grant covers most of the trail construction costs between Little Rock Central High School and the western edge of Saline County.
Pulaski County, Saline County and the City of Benton submitted separate grant requests to Metroplan on July 30 for construction funds. If successful, those funds allow construction of a continuous 7-mile segment from southern Pulaski County into northern Saline County and a 1.6-mile segment in southern Benton.
