What's going on with the new elevated walkway South of Elm Fork?
2015 - February
LRRETA (Lake Ray Robert's Equestrian Trails Association) has raised $170,000 for the new elevated walkway from a Texas Parks and Wildlife grant, Greenfest proceeds and private donors.
The site has been selected and engineering is being finalized.
The Grant contract has passed the Environmental Committee of the TPWD and is now with TXDOT for final approval.
Once TxDot approves the grant request, TP&W will send LRRETA a contract to sign. When it is signed and returned, we can begin to spend money for the new elevated walkway!
2014
Building an Elevated Walkway– Greenbelt Alliance Raising Funds to Reopen Denton County Equestrian Trail
Proceeds from the 2014 GreenFest, scheduled for September 27, will raise funds to build a elevated walkway across a portion of the Greenbelt’s equestrian trail completely washed out during a flood in 2010. Because the washout area is a public safety hazard, Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPWD) closed the trail between FM 455 and FM 428, and it has remained closed since the flood. TPWD, the City of Denton, Lake Ray Roberts Equestrian Trail Association (LRRETA), Greenbelt Alliance, the Natural Resource Conservation Service, and the US Army Corps of Engineers have considered several plans to reopen the trail. This spring, the parties agreed the best plan is to place a elevated walkway across a narrow (60 foot) portion of the ravine just downstream of the washout. The estimated cost for this elevated walkway is between $50,000 and $120,000 depending on whether an elevated walkway is donated or purchased.
Public budgets for capital projects like the elevated walkway are currently limited due to state-level funding cutbacks at TPWD. The Greenbelt Alliance and LRRETA are leading the efforts to raise private funds from businesses and individuals in the North Texas region to help fund the elevated walkway. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is assisting as a leading sponsor of GreenFest and by working with the USACE to gain permits and approvals for the elevated walkway placement and construction. The City of Denton and Our Lands and Waters Foundation, a fund associated with the USACE, are also assisting as lead sponsors.
The Ray Roberts Lake/Lake Lewisville Greenbelt Corridor is a 20-mile multi-use trail system that begins at the Ray Roberts Dam and ends at the headwaters of Lake Lewisville. This unique trail corridor meanders along the heavily wooded banks of the Elm Fork Branch of the Trinity River. Equestrians, hikers and bikers can access the trail at one of three trailheads, located at FM 455, FM 428 and Highway 380.
