New Oak Ridge Trail Provides Alternative Transportation to Campus

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Oak Ridge Trail, the new bicycle trail on campus, winds through woods between the McIlroy House and the Clinton House.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Oak Ridge Trail is the latest addition to a new bicycle path and hiking trail that connects the city of Fayetteville trail system and the University of Arkansas campus. The trail is intended to provide a safe, alternative transportation connection from the city’s Frisco Trail to the university and Fayetteville High School.

The trail starts at the city’s Frisco Trail where it crosses Center Street, parallels Center Street to Harmon Avenue and then follows an undeveloped right of way through woods on the south of campus before ending at a campus service road near the newly built Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house.

Kevin Santos, a senior campus planner responsible for coordinating the long-term planning processes, maintains databases on the use and condition of campus facilities. He worked alongside Matt Mihalevich, the trails coordinator for the city, in order to coordinate the grant application for this new trail.

"This trail is part of a larger effort to provide alternative transportation routes for students and the broader community" said Santos.

In 2008, Santos applied for a grant to help pay for construction of the Oak Ridge Trail. The application required a description of the project and information about its purpose, the types of users accommodated, compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, safety, maintenance plans and budget.

Santos campus worked with the city and the Arkansas Recreational Trails Program, which is administered by the Arkansas State Highway Commission. The successful grant application provided 80 percent of the estimated cost of $185,000, with the city and the university each providing a 10 percent match.

Other planners in the university's department of facilities management also worked with the city to develop the trail. Todd Furgason and Jill Anthes came up with the idea and then worked with Jay Huneycutt, the university's director of planning and capital programs, and the city to coordinate design and the best alignment for the trail. Kyle Cook, the university's construction coordinator, worked with the city's trail construction crew, which did most of the trail building work, with the university paying the city for the work not reimbursed by the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department.

The city’s bicycle and hiking trail system extends south to Martin Luther King Boulevard and north nearly as far as the Northwest Arkansas Mall. Connectors run even farther north to the trails around Lake Fayetteville and are planned to be part of the Razorback Greenway, a bicycle and pedestrian route that will connect Fayetteville with Bentonville.

The portion of the Oak Ridge Trail funded by the grant has been completed, but the campus plan calls for the trail to be extended north to Maple Street in the future. The timeline for the extension depends on the schedule for future construction near the proposed trail route.

Along with the trail, bicycling on campus is supported by the Outdoor Connection Center, which provides bicycle maintenance and rentals at the Health, Physical Education and Recreation Building.