Construction of Austin to Manor Urban Trail Starts This Month

 

The City of Austin’s Urban Trails Program will begin construction on the Austin to Manor Trail in April of 2023. This 2.9-mile project will create a 12-foot-wide concrete path that connects Austin’s trail network to the city of Manor. The trail is funded through Mobility Bonds, a Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO) grant, and a Travis County Interlocal Agreement. The trail route will follow Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (CapMetro) railroad tracks northeast from Lindell Lane to Ben E. Fisher Park. As a result, the route is shorter and less hilly than any existing road route people biking might take from the Walter E. Long Metropolitan Park to Manor. Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison represents the City Council District in which the trail will be located. She said, “The Austin to Manor Trail will provide access to a scenic and relaxing place where people of all abilities can enjoy spending time outside. It will also make getting to and from east Austin and Manor easier and safer for those who do not have access to a car, or who prefer to bike or walk to their destinations.”

The existing section of the Austin to Manor Trail in Walter E. Long Metropolitan Park. The trail traverses primarily through agricultural land located within the Blackland Prairie. This ecoregion, located east of IH-35, is comprised of gently rolling hills and flatlands that contain some of the richest soil in the world. The fertile soils east of Austin are a major reason that so much farmland is located east of I-35 today. The trail will provide an opprotunity to see what much of the region looked like only a few decades ago. Construction of the Austin to Manor Trail trail is expected to last one year. When complete, the trail will be a 5.5-mile-long trail beginning near Daffan Lane and ending near Ben E. Fisher Park in Manor, Texas. The trail will connect to the existing Southern Walnut Creek Trail and follow the proposed Capital Metro Green Line. Eventually, Travis County Parks plans to connect the trail to the proposed Gilleland Creek Greenway, which will connect Ben E. Fisher Metropolitan Park to Northeast Metropolitan Park in Pflugerville. Learn more about this trail project and subscribe for project updates at: AustinTexas.gov/AustintoManor