Saline County getting $1M federal grant to fix up old river bridge for Southwest Trail

MySaline has been updating the public occasionally as the Southwest Trail project progresses. It’s a walk/run/bike trail that runs from Hot Springs to Little Rock, spanning three counties – Garland, Saline and Pulaski. In April 2022, we wrote about a public meeting, asking residents for their opinion on the path of the trail.

See below ? for links to more info and a zoomable, interactive map.

As the project inches closer to fruition, the question becomes larger – how will it be funded? Today, we learned that $2 million in federal grants will go toward it. The United States Economic Development Administration (USEDA) is putting that money toward the trail.

Saline County will get half of that money, so we can restore the old Saline River Bridge. It’s currently taken down from it’s home to do just that. The County will match the grant with $250,169.

The old Saline River Bridge was located at the end of River Street, and spanned across the Saline River. It formerly allowed automobile traffic to pass between Benton and Haskell. Its new use will be recreational , as part of the Southwest Trail. Photo by Shelli Poole

Garland County will also get $1 million for the trail construction, and will match it with $250,000. Read more in this article in Arkansas Business about where the USEDA funds came from and how Arkansas Congressional Delegates were involved (or not).

Use this link to see a current map of the Southwest Trail’s path: https://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=edefc38aa25545ff89f155b52d8b5ac5. Note that the path is subject to change.

MYSALINE’S PREVIOUS ARTICLES ON SOUTHWEST TRAIL:

See the planned path for Southwest Trail on May 3rd during virtual public meeting

APRIL 26, 2022