The Parks and Recreation Department accepted bids on September 2, 2020 for the construction of the Cottonwood Creek Greenbelt Trail Extension – Stoney Hollow Park to Park Boulevard project. The project provides approximately 1.5 miles of new concrete trail, connecting from Stoney Hollow Park at Oxbow Creek Lane to the existing Cottonwood Creek Greenbelt segment south of Park Boulevard. The project includes an elevated walkway in a low-lying flood-prone area, rest areas with trash bins and benches, and a gabion wall to address an eroding creek bank adjacent to trail that will be placed in an easement located on the Plano East High School property.
The lowest responsive and responsible bid was submitted by Ratliff Hardscape, Ltd, in the amount of $1,383,351. There were a total of 1,083 vendors notified of this project. Nine complete bids were received for the project as shown in the attached bid recap.
Overview of the Cottonwood Creek Greenbelt Trail System
The Cottonwood Creek Greenbelt Trail has been planned since the 1980's when it was part of Plano’s first Comprehensive Bikeway Plan. The trail follows the eastern edge of Plano, connecting Richardson to Allen, for a total of 8.5 miles of trail. The trail is identified in several regional plans including the Six Cities Trail Plan, the Collin County Regional Trails Master Plan and the North Central Texas Council of Government’s Regional Veloweb.
In 2015, the City Council authorized a consultant contract for the Cottonwood Creek Trail Extension Project and over the past five years the project team has coordinated with various citizen groups representing the nearby residential areas and has coordinated with representatives of the Plano Independent School District, which have guided the design and completion of various segments of this trail system.
This project will complete an integral component of the planned regional trail between the six cities by providing a continuous greenbelt trail adjacent to Cottonwood Creek.
In 2016, based on this project’s potential impact and regional significance, the City of Plano was awarded a $395,000 reimbursement grant from Collin County via the Collin County Parks and Open Space Grant Program.
If this project is not awarded, the existing gap within the Cottonwood Creek Greenbelt Trail will remain and the grant from Collin County will be forfeited.