Yay, more trails!!
How cool is this? Well, I think it's very cool.
Stimulus to expand city trail By Philip Jankowski Wednesday, May 13, 2009 2:50 PM CDT
The City of Hutto is one of only two cities in the state of Texas to receive stimulus funding to help fund a trail project. City officials learned last week Hutto will receive more than half a million dollars to expand Cottonwood Trail another mile with extensions at both ends that will connect several Hutto schools. “It’s something we had been lobbying for awhile,” City Manager Ed Broussard said. “We had thought with the funds coming down, if they were looking to fund projects that were frozen, there would be a great possibility that we could get some of it.”
The project was put on hold after the Texas Department of Transportation discovered a shortfall of more than $1 billion last year. When the trail was originally designed, it was meant to connect all Hutto schools. However, with the rapid growth of Hutto and Hutto ISD, the lengthened trail will not extend to all schools even when this second phase of construction is finished. “That shows how quickly HISD and Hutto have grown,” Broussard said. The trail runs from Fritz Park, under U.S. 79 to Creekside Park. When finished, it will extend north to Hutto Elementary School and along Carl Stern Boulevard to Nadine Johnson Elementary and Hutto High School.
The funding, $545,000, requires a $150,000 match from the city, money Broussard said the city will be able to provide because of the postponement of some capital improvement projects, such as the extension of Carl Stern Boulevard. The trail is also sometimes referred to as the TEA-21 trail after the grant funding that helped pay for it from the Transportation Enhancement Act. The trail will be a 10-foot wide paved concrete trail, Parks and Recreation Director Mike Hemker said. There are no plans for a phase three as of yet, Broussard said, though the city may continue to extend the trail to connect newer schools.
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