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Watters Trail South is scheduled to be open to residents at the end of May, Allen Trail System Planner Krishan Patel said.
The project kicked off in mid-October after Allen City Council approved the $1.1 million construction contract in September, according to city documents.
The details
The Watters Trail South extension will begin at The Montgomery Apartments at Watters Creek and end near the future Rowlett Trail.
Funding for the project is split between two sources. The city received $140,000 from the Collin County Parks and Open Space funding assistance grant, and the remaining $960,000 comes from Allen’s Community Development Corp., Patel said.
Because the project came in under budget, the city was also able to include a pedestrian bridge that crosses a drainage outfall that flows into Watters Creek, Patel said.
The context
The Watters Trail South extension will eventually connect to the Rowlett Trail, which is expected to begin construction this summer, Patel said.
“With that already planned trail, we had this last piece of trail at Watters [Creek] that connected to the retail and residential, and so we wanted to close that gap,” he said.
When completed, the Rowlett Trail project will create an interjurisdictional connection between Plano and Allen.
“The biggest enhancement is not only for leisure, it's also another alternative mode of transportation, and that's something that a lot of our residents are wanting,” Patel said.
Rowlett Trail is scheduled to be completed in 2028, Director of Parks and Recreation Kate Meacham said.
Quote of note
“I can't wait for people to enjoy this,” Patel said. “It's going to be a nice experience.”
