Central Trail Construction (South) Coming Along Nicely
We’ve been keeping an eye on the construction of the southern extension of the Central Trail.
Central Trail is the trail that runs parallel to Central Expressway, along the DART Rail Red Line tracks. Currently, it starts at Renner Road at Routh Creek Parkway (where it connects to the Spring Creek Trail), and runs south to DART’s Arapaho Center Station – well, sort of. In our opinion, it really stops at about Alma Road, and becomes a sidewalk, along Greenville, until it reaches Arapaho Center Station. Read more about that here.
This new addition is designed to extend Central Trail south, from Arapaho Road to Buckingham Road – at the city limit. Future extensions will eventually connect it to the White Rock Creek Trail. We were also given some information that lead us to believe that the trail extension will connect to the Arapaho Center Station train platform, instead of the bus transfer station on the east side of Greenville Road. That would be fantastic if it actually happens.
Once this extension is complete, people will be able to walk or ride their bikes to three of the four DART train stations in Richardson (Spring Valley, Arapaho Center and Galatyn Park). The Bush Turnpike Station will have to wait for a future extension.
Here are some pics and descriptions of the current progress:
This shot was taken at the southwest corner of Arapaho Road And Greenville Avenue. You can see the DART tracks to the right and Greenville Avenue to the left.
This shot was taken a bit further south along Greenville Avenue. As you can see, they’re making every effort to save the trees.
This shot was taken even further south along Greenville Avenue. Here you can see how the trail will coexist with the DART Red Line.
This pic was taken just south of the Jackson Street crossing.
As you can see, the trail isn’t ready to ride.
As the trail approaches Belt Line Road, it actually crosses under the DART Rail track overpass.
This is where the trail will cross Belt Line Road. The city has decided that the light at Interurban will be the best place to cross.
Once across Belt Line Road, the trail is lost at this parking lot entrance. It eventually begins again at the rail underpass.
The trail construction seems to end at Polk Street.
I rode a bit further south to find this bridge being built at Phillips Street. Not seeing a current plan, I can only guess that this will have a roll in the extension of Central Trail.
I didn’t get a chance to ride down to Spring Valley Station. I’ll try to get down there next weekend to check on any progress down there.
Richardson City Council Awards Bid for Central Trail Construction
From the City of Richardson weekly newsletter:
The City Council on Monday awarded a bid of $3.4 million to Ed Bell Construction Company to extend the Central Trail 1.9 miles from the Arapaho Road DART Station to the southern city limit. Construction of the 10-foot wide concrete multiuse trail is expected to begin in April and last for about one year.
The $4 million project is funded through Dallas County and the City of Richardson’s 2010 Bond Program. The lowest bid to construct the trail came in about $400,000 over budget, so the City removed some amenities such as irrigation systems, landscaping, and benches to be constructed in a possible second phase at a future date. The City also hopes to use $600,000 in Regional Tollway Revenue funds awarded for the Central Trail to help enhance the project.
The Central Trail currently runs from the Spring Creek Trail in north Richardson and ends at the Arapaho Road DART Station. The extension will run alongside the DART rail line and is planned to eventually connect with the Richardson city limit to the south and a future connection to the Dallas’ White Rock Creek Trail.
Watch the City Council presentation at http://bit.ly/V6oiYQ.
We are extremely excited that this is happening and we’d still like to see the small gap in the plan addressed.
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Trail Under Renner Progress – Forms Are Up, Cement Is Being Poured
It’s been a couple of weeks since our last progress report. The city is finally getting close to completing the trail under Renner Road. All of the forms are up and they’ve started pouring the concrete on the north side. What’s interesting about this part of the process, compared to when they worked on the trail under Central, is that the side rail is already up. My guess is that it’s because of safety issues – since there’s a 12 foot drop on the other side.
Here are some pics:
Forms Leading From The Existing Spring Creek Trail - South Side Of Renner
Forms Continue Under Renner Road - Facing North
View Of Where Forms Meet Concrete Under Renner Road - Facing South
North Side Of Renner Road Facing South. Note Side Rail.
View Of The Trail Connection, North Side Of Renner - Facing North
View From Above - On Renner Road (east bound traffic)
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More Renner Road Underpass Progress
It’s been a couple of weeks since we’ve checked on the progress of the Renner Road trail underpass. We were quite surprised to see so much progress in such a short amount of time. Now that the retaining wall is going up, we’re starting to get a better idea of how this trail is going to look.
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Spring Creek Trail – Central and Renner Road Underpass Updates
It’s been a few weeks since we’ve been on the Spring Creek Trail, so we thought we would share some updates.
Central Underpass (south of Renner Road)
Let’s start with the – almost complete – Central Expressway (US75) underpass, the one located just south of Renner Road. The last time we checked, all of the cement was poured except the small bit that connected it to the existing trail on the west side. We got an email on May 28th from BFR friend, Dennis, informing us that it was finally poured. Here’s a shot of that:
West Side Connection To Existing Trail.
Some of the other improvements to this portion of the trail are new guard rails and painted retaining walls. These are the types of details that will make our trail system a nice place to travel – safe and visually pleasing. We’re glad the city has taken the steps to make these routes more than just utility.
Painted Retaining Walls and New Guard Rails
New Guard Rails
Renner Road Underpass
The third and last holdout to the completion of the Spring Creek Trail underpass project is the section under Renner Road. This passage will be necessary to access the other Central Underpass, just north of Renner Road. Although behind schedule, quite a bit of progress has been made in the past couple of months. Now it looks like they’ve got a good start on a massive retaining wall.
Retaining Wall Construction Under Renner Road
Retaining Wall Construction Under Renner Road
Follow our coverage of the Spring Creek Trail extension
– Including Under Central Connections:
Trail Construction – 03/11/2010
Under Construction-Two Bike Trails Under Central Expressway – 04/03/2010
More Trail Construction Pics – 05/08/2010
Trail Construction Moving Forward Nicely – 06/13/2010
Trail Construction Update Pics – 07/25/2010
More Trail Progress – 08/21/2010
New Guard Rail – 08/28/2010
More Trail Progress – Towards The Central Underpass – 09/26/2010
Central Underpass – Progress On The West Side – 11/28/2010
More Trail Progress – Retaining Walls Under US75 – 12/05/2010
Trail Under Central Progress – More Gabion Walls – 02/13/2011
Trail Under Central Progress – West Side Ramp – 03/06/2011
Spring Creek Trail: North Of Renner Road – A Progress Report – 04/02/2011
Trail Under Central – Serious Progress – 04/17/2011
Took A Ride Under Central Expressway Today – 04/23/2011
Updates To The Central Expressway and Renner Road Underpasses – 05/09/2011
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Updates To The Central Expressway and Renner Road Underpasses
A bunch has happened since our last report on the almost completion of the first Central Expressway underpass , just south of Renner Road.
North of Renner Road, Underpass of Central Expressway - East Side
It now appears that the second Central underpass, just north of Renner Road, has been poured as well. That portion of the Richardson trail – from Alma Road (at the PGB Tollway), running under Central Expressway, then around to Renner Road – is complete.
North of Renner Road, Underpass of Central Expressway - West Side
The underpass at Renner Road – connecting this new trail to the existing Spring Creek Trail – is all that is left. As of a few weeks ago, it still looked like there was plenty of work that needed to be done. This weekend, we discovered that quite a bit of progress has happened and that underpass is well on it’s way towards completion.
Check out the pics:
Renner Road Underpass - Not Much Progress A Few Weeks Ago
Renner Road Underpass - Much More Progress This Past Weekend
Renner Road Underpass - Much More Progress This Past Weekend
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Here’s a map for this section of trail:
Follow our coverage of the Spring Creek Trail extension
– Including Under Central Connections:
Trail Construction – 03/11/2010
Under Construction-Two Bike Trails Under Central Expressway – 04/03/2010
More Trail Construction Pics – 05/08/2010
Trail Construction Moving Forward Nicely – 06/13/2010
Trail Construction Update Pics – 07/25/2010
More Trail Progress – 08/21/2010
New Guard Rail – 08/28/2010
More Trail Progress – Towards The Central Underpass – 09/26/2010
Central Underpass – Progress On The West Side – 11/28/2010
More Trail Progress – Retaining Walls Under US75 – 12/05/2010
Trail Under Central Progress – More Gabion Walls – 02/13/2011
Trail Under Central Progress – West Side Ramp – 03/06/2011
Spring Creek Trail: North Of Renner Road – A Progress Report – 04/02/2011
Trail Under Central – Serious Progress – 04/17/2011
Took A Ride Under Central Expressway Today – 04/23/2011
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Spring Creek Trail: North Of Renner Road – A Progress Report
Do you remember when Bob reported about this trail over a year ago? Back then it was just an open field and a plan to extend the Spring Creek Trail from the Renner Road at Central Expressway rest stop to Alma Road at the PGB Tollway. We’re happy to report that, over a year later, the trail is mostly – and we stress mostly – complete. Unfortunately, two key portions that will connect it to the Spring Creek Trail are far from complete. Both the passages under Renner Road and Central Expressway still have a long way to go.
Like with the central underpass, just south of Renner, contractors didn’t quite make the goal of February 2011 completion. Considering how bad some of last winter’s snow storms were, the setbacks are understandable.
That didn’t stop us from taking a spin to investigate the progress. Check out some of the shots from the upcoming trail (Click on the map above to see these pics in context).
Passage Under Renner Road - Still Flooded
Trail North Of Renner Road To Central Expressway
Passage Under Central Expressway
West Trail From Central Towards The PGB Tollway
Under The PGB Tollway - Facing West
Under The PGB Tollway - Facing East
Trail Emerging Out From Under The PGB Tollway
End Of The Trail At Alma And PGB Tollway
Some folks have questioned the purpose of this trail. Although it will provide a safe passage under Central Expressway, it really doesn’t provide much of a connection between east and west Richardson. Once it connects to Alma Road, it just stops. Well, according to the Richardson Bicycle-Pedestrian Trailways Plan, it will eventually continue along the PGB Tollway as well as the planned Cottenbelt Trail.
We’d like to see Dallas and Plano provide connections to both north and south Preston Ridge Trail. Fingers crossed.
Follow our coverage of this trail construction:
November 28, 2010
September 26, 2010
August 28, 2010
August 21, 2010
July 25, 2010
June 13, 2010
May 8, 2010
April 3, 2010
March 11, 2010
December 5, 2010
February 13, 2011
March 6, 2011
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More Trail Progress – Towards The Central Underpass
There is a bit more progress on the Spring Creek Trail extension that leads to one of the Central Expressway underpasses. In case you aren’t sure where this is, it branches off from the Spring Creek Trail rest area, at the southeast corner of Central and Renner Road.
Last Week: The forms were set up ready for cement.
This Week: This part of the trail is complete.
Here’s a shot from further down the trail, closer to the underpass:
More to come.
Follow our coverage of this trail construction:
August 28, 2010
August 21, 2010
July 25, 2010
June 13, 2010
May 8, 2010
April 3, 2010
March 11, 2010
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New Guard Rail
I’ve made it my mission to do weekly checkups on the new trail construction by Spring Creek Park (at Central and Renner Road). Every week, there’s a new surprise addition that gets us closer to having a bike friendly passage under Central Expressway, safely joining east and west Richardson.
This week, they added guard rails to the newly poured path we reported on last week.
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More Trail Progress
It’s amazing what could happen in a week. They had the forms set up last weekend for the addition to the trail at Renner Road and Central. This week we have about 70-80 yards of hike and bike trail, leading us closer to the pass under Central. Check back and we’ll keep you posted with more progress as it happens.
Last Weekend
Today
More to come...
On a side note, I met a really nice lady on the bike trails today. Jill was getting back on the bike for the first time in years. I told her about BFR and she seemed excited about the idea of a group that is more about riding for fun or utility over sport. Seems, like with most of us, the intimidation of the sport cycling culture has kept her off the bike. We hope to see more riders, like Jill, rediscover the enjoyment of riding their bikes – at their own pace.
Follow our coverage of this trail construction:
July 25, 2010
June 13, 2010
May 8, 2010
April 3, 2010
March 11, 2010
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Bike Friendly Richardson 
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