Allen City Council unanimously approved a contract worth just under $4.2 million to extend the Rowlett Trail, closing gaps in the city's trail network and creating a continuous route connecting Plano through Allen to McKinney.

The council awarded the contract to Garret Shields Infrastructure at its Tuesday, Aug. 11 meeting, according to Community Impact. Parks and Recreation Director Kate Meacham called the extension the city's most requested trail segment.

"This, by far, is our most requested segment," Meacham told council. She described the project as a key connector between Plano, Allen and McKinney.

1.67 miles, two bridges

Phase 1 will add 1.67 miles of new trail in two sections. The north segment connects Bolin Park to The Trail at the Woods. The south segment links the existing Rowlett Trail to Watters Trail and continues to the Bluebonnet Trail in Plano. Two bridges are included.

Construction is expected to take one year.

Phase 2 will add a trailhead on the McDermott Park property and is expected to begin immediately after Phase 1 wraps. The city completed the Watters Trail South extension in May at a cost of $1.1 million in anticipation of the larger project.

No city dollars for Phase 1

The entire Phase 1 cost is covered by grants. The city secured $4.5 million in grant funding, but the project came in under budget, saving roughly $300,000. The specific grant sources, which include a mix of county, state and federal dollars, have not been publicly itemized.

Phase 2 carries a separate price tag of approximately $3.2 million, funded through the Allen Community Development Corp.

When Meacham presented the broader Rowlett Trail project at the council's May 7 meeting, as Community Impact reported, she estimated the full effort at around $9 million with half coming from matching grants. The Phase 1 contract coming in well below that earlier projection means the city stretched its grant dollars further than anticipated.

Regional connector

Allen's existing trail system spans more than 102 miles, according to the city's trails page. The current Rowlett Creek Trail runs 3.55 miles along Rowlett Creek from McDermott Drive to Trail at the Woods.

Both the Collin County Regional Trail Plan and the Allen Trails and Bikeways Master Plan prioritize eliminating trail gaps and building long-distance continuous routes. The county plan was updated in 2025, prompting Allen to begin refreshing its own 2019 master plan; council approved a $150,000 contract with Halff Associates for that update at its April 28 meeting.

Allen is part of the Six Cities trail plan connecting Allen, Plano, McKinney, Richardson, Frisco and Garland, and sits within the Regional Veloweb, a network of off-street shared-use paths spanning 10 North Texas counties.

No groundbreaking date has been announced for Phase 1. Residents can track project updates on the city's parks and trails page.