What we reported

In May, the city of Austin celebrated the opening of the first section of the Northern Walnut Creek Trail, a 3.2-mile trail running from Walnut Creek Metropolitan Park to under MoPac near Balcones District Park. The 10-foot-wide concrete trail is accessible by pedestrians and bicyclists and includes four trailheads and nine creek crossings.

The latest

The final piece of the trail to Balcones park is still under design, and updated plans will be submitted in March. Part of this section will be completed in coordination with the Waters Park Relief Main project to install a larger wastewater system near Balcones park. The $5.5 million project began in November and will be complete in mid-2018.

What’s next

The city is also designing a second phase of the trail from Walnut Creek Park to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality offices located off I-35. Design of the 1.8-mile-long extension stalled after funding issues, but money from the 2016 bond voters approved in November will enable design to resume. Design of the trail will be done by the end of 2017, and the city plans to start construction in 2018 and open the trail in 2019. A public meeting to gather input on how the trail will cross I-35 is planned for early 2017. This story is one update from The January Issue. View the full list of 10 things to look for in 2017 here.