TYLER, Texas — The Tyler City Council on Wednesday approved a contract to complete the design of Legacy Trail that will add a 12-foot wide trail connecting an elementary school to a proposed park.
Council members approved the contract with C.T. Brannon Corporation to ultimately connect a major tourist attraction, as well as several major entertainment and sports venues, according to the city of Tyler.
A 12-foot wide reinforced concrete multipurpose trail will run from Peete Elementary School to connect with the proposed Stewart Park. This trail will be located at first, in the right-of-way of Frankston Highway (State Highway 155) and then be constructed in either city right-of-way, public alley right-of-way or in City parks.
Stewart Park will have a trailhead location with parking facilities.
This project is expected to cost about $3.1 million. The Texas Department of Transportation will provide up to 80% or $2,863,464 of construction costs as reimbursement, and the city will pay all of the engineering and design costs and the remaining 20% of construction costs.
The extension project, which was originally slated for construction in 2024, has been moved up to 2023.
Funding from the city will come from the Half-Cent Sales Tax Fund.
Legacy Trail first opened in 2019 with plans to expand northward to South Tyler Trails. The 4.5 miles, 10-foot wide concrete trail runs on the eastern and western sides of Old Jacksonville Highway; running from Toll 49 and continuing toward Flint.
Legacy Trail is situated on the Old Cotton Belt train route, which was instrumental in the growth of East Texas, the city of Tyler said.
Last July, the city received a grant through the TxDOT Transportation Alternative Set-Aside Program to construct the extension to Legacy Trails.
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