The Walton Family Foundation has awarded the City of Springdale an $825,051 grant to build a mountain bike trail.
The Springdale City Council voted Tuesday night to approve the grant at its regular meeting.
Patsy Christie, planning director, said the city must match that amount to pay for the rest of the project. The money would come from the sales tax set aside for park development, she said.
The total cost is expected to be $1,650,102.
"It's an exciting opportunity for the city of Springdale. We don't have any mountain bike trails in Springdale," Christie said. "It gives us an opportunity to build one that's just off of the Razorback Greenway."
The land is located on Silent Grove Road, in the northeast side of Springdale. When the 2.6 mile trail is completed, it will connect to the Razorback Regional Greenway, which is a 36-mile trail being built from Fayetteville to Bella Vista.
"There's been a lot of support. We've had public meetings and you see all kinds of people coming in and saying 'we are ready to have one,'" Christie said. "So we're really excited about getting this opportunity to open up some single track or mountain bike trails in Springdale."
Christie said the track will be for all skill levels.
"It will have some pump tracks, it will have some areas for all different levels of users and it will be great for families who don’t even want to ride a bike and get out there and walk up through nature and see nature at its best in Northwest Arkansas,” Christie said.
Christie said construction is expected to start in mid-July and be done by the end of the year, depending on weather.