Riordan trailhead gains OK

A resolution expressing willingness of the city to use federal-aid funds for a trailhead at Riordan Road received unanimous approval during Monday night’s City Council meeting.

Chris Suneson, director of the Community Development Services Department, said that the proposed trailhead will sit alongside Riordan Road, near the base of the hill just west of Riordan’s intersection with U.S. 71.

The city applied for a grant, he said at the Feb. 21 work session, and received $250,000 in construction funding.

Plans have to be readied and funds dedicated, he said, by September.

Mayor Peter Christie said this trailhead would be for a future extension of the paved Razorback Greenway. It is not related to soft-surface trails.

Suneson said construction could be started as early as next year and finish as soon as spring next year.

Extending the Greenway, he said, is too far out to really comment on.

“It is a point to aim for with hard-surface trail construction,” Suneson said. “We don’t have any firm commitment to extend the Razorback.”

But for the trailhead, he said, there are several possibilities.

In addition to serving as an access point for paved trails, he said, part of this project is to create safe pedestrian crossing on Riordan Road.

Moreover, he said, that area needs better drainage, and it may be possible to address both at once.

“We’re looking to use the natural topography to our advantage,” he said, “and we can actually get under Riordan Road with a standard box culvert that would allow drainage flow as well as standard pedestrian and bike traffic.”