Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

May 15, 2026FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASESaline County to Hold Ribbon Cutting for First Southwest Trail SegmentSALINE COUNTY, AR — Saline County officials will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, May 29, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. to celebrate the opening of the county’s first completed segment of the Southwest Trail. The event will recognize the completion of Segment S8A, an approximately 2.5-mile section of trail that will connect directly to the already completed Pulaski County trail system.The ribbon cutting will take place near Vimy Ridge Immanuel Baptist Church, with parking available at the church located at 12214 Germania Rd., Alexander, AR 72002. Due to extremely limited parking near the ceremony site, attendees are strongly encouraged to carpool. Shuttle transportation will also be available from the parking area to the ribbon cutting location.The Southwest Trail is a regional multi-use trail project connecting communities across Saline, Pulaski, and Garland counties. Once completed, the trail system will stretch approximately 65 miles from Central High School in Little Rock to Bathhouse Row in Hot Springs. Saline County will ultimately make up 26.1 miles of the overall trail system, the largest portion among the three participating counties.“This is an exciting moment not just for the Southwest Trail, but for the future of Saline County,” said Saline County Judge Matt Brumley. “Opening our very first segment later this month marks a major milestone for this project and for the continued growth of our county. The Southwest Trail will help connect communities, encourage recreation and tourism, and improve quality of life across our region. This project has truly been a partnership between Saline, Pulaski, and Garland counties, along with many organizations, grant partners, and individuals who believed in this vision from the beginning. Saline County will make up 26.1 miles of the overall 65-mile trail system, and we understand the important responsibility we have in helping make this project a success for generations to come.”The Southwest Trail has been in development for more than a decade, with years of planning, environmental studies, engineering, right-of-way acquisition, and grant coordination taking place before construction began. Construction on Segment S8A officially started in April 2025 and is scheduled to be completed in May 2026.County officials say the trail will provide long-term recreational, economic, and tourism benefits for Central Arkansas. An economic impact study completed in 2015 estimated approximately 20,000 new visitors annually, more than 1.2 million trail users, and roughly $1.2 million injected into the regional economy each year. Officials believe those projections have likely increased significantly due to the growth seen across Central Arkansas over the past decade.The newly completed segment will connect directly with Pulaski County’s existing four-mile Segment P1 trail section, creating approximately six and a half miles of continuous completed trail between the two counties.Residents can follow the Saline County social media pages and visit the Saline County website for additional event details, parking updates, and announcements leading up to the ribbon cutting ceremony.###