FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 18, 2018
Contact: Matt Mihalevich
Trails Coordinator
Engineering Division
479.444.3416
mmihalevich@fayetteville-ar.gov
Cato Springs Paved Trail and Kessler Mountain Natural Surface Trail Ribbon Cutting and Ride
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.— The City of Fayetteville invites you to join Mayor Lioneld Jordon for a ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating the completion of the Cato Springs Trail and the Kessler Mountain natural surface trails. The event is at 12 noon on Saturday, April 21 on the trail roundabout at Kessler Mountain Regional Park. A series of mountain bike rides will begin at 1 p.m. These events are free and open to the public. Event map link
The Cato Springs Trail is a 3-mile-long, 12-foot-wide concrete trail that travels along portions of the Cato Springs Branch stream and provides a connection between Kessler Mountain Regional Park and the Razorback Regional Greenway. Significant structural accomplishments include a 100-foot-long tunnel under Razorback Road and a 236-foot-long bridge over the Fulbright Expressway. The City’s in-house trail construction crew (part of the Transportation Services Department) built 2.5 miles of the trail and Boulder Construction was contracted to build the remaining 0.5 miles of the trail, including the tunnel and expressway bridge. The trail was made possible by a 50:50 matching grant of $2 million from the Walton Family Foundation. Lighting for the new trail is funded and will be installed in the fall of 2018.
The Kessler Mountain soft surface trail improvements will also be celebrated at the ribbon cutting and will recognize completion of a $341,230 construction project that was also 50:50 cost shared with the Walton Family Foundation. The construction contract was awarded to Progressive Trail Design of Fayetteville, who teamed with Rogue Trails of Rogers and the Ozark Off-Road Riders volunteer advocacy group from northwest Arkansas. Together, these trail builders:
- constructed three new trails – the 1.6-mile Chinkapin Oak Trail, the 1.2-mile Last Call Trail, the 0.9-mile Terrapin Station Trail
- made significant improvements to the existing Trent, Serpentine, Egg Beater, Western Myth, Spellbound, and Crazy Mary Trails
- built and installed two new trailhead kiosks with trail information and maps
Beginning at 1 p.m., cyclists from Ozark Off-Road Cyclists, Progressive Trail Design, and Rogue Trails will lead a series of guided mountain bike rides designed for riders of all ages and abilities. They are excited to showcase the new and improved trails to be found at Kessler Mountain Regional Park.
Celebrate Earth Day festivities beginning at 9 a.m. at the Marion Orton Recycling Center (735 W North Street). The public is invited to participate in litter clean-up from 9 a.m. until 12:00 noon along the Razorback Regional Greenway and Scull Creek. For more information on the clean-up events, please contact Kristina Jones at 479.444.3467 or kjones@fayetteville-ar.gov.
A group bicycle ride with Trails Coordinator, Matt Mihalevich will depart from the Marion Orton Recycling Center at 11 a.m. and arrive at the Kessler Mountain Regional Park prior to the ribbon cutting celebration. Participants will experience six miles of shared use paved trail including portions of the Razorback Regional Greenway through Walker Park, the Town Branch Trail and the newly constructed Cato Springs Trail.
In the spirit of Earth Day, the City encourages participants to walk or bike to these events. All events are conveniently located along the Fayetteville Trail System.
Support for these events is provided by Bike Fayetteville, Keep Fayetteville Beautiful, the Beaver Watershed Alliance, Boston Mountain Solid Waste District, Ozark Off-Road Cyclists, Progressive Trail Design, Rogue Trails, the University of Arkansas Research & Extension Services, Jammin’ Java, and Einstein Brothers Bagels.
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