SPRINGDALE — A federal grant will help the city build a trailhead on the Razorback Greenway.
The City Council, in its 6 p.m. meeting Tuesday, will be asked to approve using a federal Transportation, Community and System Preservation grant of $400,000 to build a trailhead on Sanders Avenue. The trailhead will provide a parking lot, bathroom and watering stations to people using the greenway.
The Razorback Greenway is a 36-mile trail stretching from south Fayetteville to Lake Bella Vista.
The grant provides 80 percent of funding and the city provides 20 percent of the cost, said Patsy Christie, city director of planning and community development. The state Highway and Transportation Department, which administers the grant, approved providing the land to count as the cityÕs portion of the match, she said.
By the Numbers
Trail Grants
Grants for Springdale trails or trail equipment
Shiloh Trail - $270,000
Meadow Trail - $50,000
Hunt Park and Trail Crossings - $657,100
Sanders Trailhead - $400,000
Source: City Of Springdale
"We received an anonymous grant to purchase that property," Christie said. "Effectively, we'll have a trailhead that didn't cost the city anything."
The Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission applied for the grant, said John McLarty, regional planner. Regional Planning received a $15 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant for the greenway. A required matching fund of $3.75 million will come from the Walton Family Foundation.
The estimated cost of the greenway, including trailheads, bathrooms and other amenities, is $38 million. Alta Planning and Design/Greenways Inc. was chosen to design the trail.
Three trailheads will be in Springdale, Christie said. Those will be at Shiloh Square on Emma Avenue, Sanders Avenue and on West Pump Station Road near Lake Springdale.
The Sanders trailhead will be in the flood plain of Spring Creek so the facilities will have to be flood-proof, Christie said. The trail will follow the creek from Shiloh Square to Lake Springdale, she said.
The Sanders trailhead will allow people to access the greenway before it heads north along Spring Creek. The greenway will have few access points between Thompson Street and Lake Springdale.
The process to build the Sanders trailhead began almost a year ago. In April 2012, the council voted to accept an anonymous donation for up to $304,000 to allow the city to purchase three tracts of land on Sanders Avenue. The tracts included buildings at 603 Sanders and 700 Sanders.
The city purchased 603 Sanders in June 2012, according to Washington County records, from the Washington County Economic Opportunity Agency. The agency held Head Start classes in the building, but moved out after it flooded, said Christie.
The city purchased 700 Sanders from Inglesia De Dios Maran in May 2012. Both buildings will be demolished to build the greenway, Christie said.
Springdale businessman Michael Steenbergen has worked on the city's trail plan.
"It's great that we'll be getting some work started on the trail," Steenbergen said. "It's a reward for all the effort people have put into the trail system for so many years."
Springdale is the last of the four large cities along the greenway to begin trail construction, McLarty said.
Fayetteville and Bentonville constructed city trails that will be used as sections of the greenway. Rogers has a section near the Pinnacle development that is under construction, as well as a trailhead at Mercy Hospital, McLarty said.
One Springdale section of the greenway is nearing construction. All of the right of way easements for the section between Lake Springdale and Interstate 540 have been secured. The greenway will cross under I-540 on Goad Springs Road. Goad Springs runs off Silent Grove Road near where it turns into Apple Blossom Road.
"We are waiting to hear from the Highway Department," McLarty said. "They have to approve putting the section out for bid."
The bid process should start in March, McLarty said.
Another small section of the greenway north of I-540 should also be ready for bids soon, McLarty said. Next should be the section between Lake Fayetteville and Shiloh Square. The greenway will run up Powell and Park streets to Spring Creek. The greenway will follow Spring Creek to Shiloh Square.
About half the easements on that section have been secured, Christie said.
"We haven't had to condemn any right of way, yet," Christie said. "A lot of the easements have been donated."
The section from Shiloh Square to Lake Springdale will be the last to be built, McLarty said. The greenway follows Spring Creek the entire distance of this section, he said.
"You have to have permits from the Army Corps of Engineers since it's in the flood plain," McLarty said. "That takes more time."