By Marc Mumby
BikeDFW Member and Trail Scout
 The High Five interchange between Interstate 635 (LBJ) and US75/Central Expressway is a prominent Dallas landmark. Thousands of cars soar across its overpasses and down its ski slope-like ramps every day. What the drivers, and most other people don't know, is that way down below, a ribbon of concrete skirts along Cottonwood Creek as it meanders under the High Five. Many cyclists have heard of this trail, but few have ever seen it and it has remained a mysterious "bike path to nowhere."
The concrete path under the High Five is part of the Cottonwood Trail project that will eventually link the White Rock Creek Trail with the Preston Ridge Trail in Richardson. Thanks to the foresight of regional transportation planners, construction of the bicycle/pedestrian path was included in the High Five project. Although the High Five, and the path under it, were completed in December of 2005, work on the Cottonwood Trail (which is needed it connect it to something) was delayed until the beginning of this year. I talked to Jared White in the Planning and Design Division of the Dallas Parks and Recreation Department who has been involved in the project for the last 5 years. Mr. White explained that "the delay was due to the sheer complexity of the project and the number of agencies involved." The Cottonwood Creek Trail project is a joint effort of the City of Dallas and Dallas County who coordinate with TXDOT (who built the section under the High Five), Texas Instruments (who owns some of the property where the trail is located), and the City of Richardson to name a few. In addition, sections of the trail run along a flood plain, adding another layer of complexity to the design and construction.
While riding home from work last Saturday, I decided to take a little detour to check out this mysterious path and progress on the Cottonwood Trail. The trail is not officially open, so my two-wheeled excursion into the depths of the High Five required some, umm... creative maneuvering around and over concrete barriers and chain-link fences. I wouldn't recommend trying it unless you're riding fat tires.
Read on for a photo travel log of my trip!
Update on Dec. 2, 2009. Jared White from Dallas Parks and Rec was gracious enough to call back with more details on the time table. The current construction (described under "Read More") is scheduled for completion in March of 2010. Bidding for construction of the southern extension of the trail from Hamilton Park to the White Rock Creek Trail will start in early 2010 with estimated completion in late 2010.
My journey began on what is currently the southern end of the Cottonwood Trail, on a section of concrete that was built in 2004 and runs through Hamilton Park along the east side of Cottonwood Creek (which is just east of Central Expressway), just north of Forest Lane. From there, I rode north to where the trail ends at a new bridge built across Cottonwood Creek. At this point, I turned right onto a gravel road through an old staging area from the High Five construction to another (older) bridge across Cottonwood Creek, north of where the new bridge is being built. From there, it was an easy ride on the completed, though not open, trail under 635 and Central, all the way to it's northern terminus on Mahan Drive. Here's a photo log of my trip plus some general impressions of this intriguing new bike path. 
Start of the journey. Looking north from the lower section of the current trail that runs between Cottonwood Creek and Willowdell Drive in Hamilton Park, just north of Forest Lane.
This is where the lower section ends. You can see the construction area (white patch) where the bridge is being constructed.
This is the southeast end of the new bridge that crosses Cottonwood Creek and connects to the continuation of the path along the northbound Central Expressway access road. The building in the background is on the opposite (west) side of Central and you can see a couple of High Five ramps. It looks like the bridge should be completed in March.
On the other side of the bridge looking south, showing construction around the northwest end of the new bridge.
Heading north from the bridge, the newest section of trail runs along the northbound Central access road as it approaches 635. Traffic on the access road was very light on Saturday.
The trail heads down under 635. They're hard to see, but there are footings for lightpoles, which will presumably light the trail at night... very cool!
Glad they widened the trail to get around this!
Riding under 635 feels like riding through an indoor stadium. High ceilings and lots of noise. I know I'm a bike geek, but this part was thrilling!
Another renegade (like me) on the section between 635 and Central. Cottonwood Creek on the right.
Heading under Central... a warning sign, just in case you ride a 300 cm frame!
Looking back under Central. I didn't count, but it seems like you ride under 50 lanes of traffic. Cottonwood Creek is on the left.
Looking back near the north end of the trail... at least they tried to keep people out.
The north entrance to the Cottonwood Trail on Mahan Drive.
Some general impressions from my little journey.
- The trail under the High Five is WIDE! At least twice as wide as the White Rock Creek Trail.
- Total distance from Forest Lane to Mahan Drive seemed like a mile and a half.
- It's oh so cool. Cruising along on your bike with a thousand cars overhead makes you feel like you're pulling something over on someone.
As you can see from the photos, there has been a lot of progress since the beginning of the year. The current phase of the project includes completion of the Cottonwood Creek Bridge and its approaches, the remaining short stretch of trail connecting the bridge to the path under the High Five, and the section connecting the bridge to current trail in Hamilton Park. According to Jared White in the Dallas Parks and Rec Department, the next phase will be the section connecting the current trail in Hamilton Park to the White Rock Creek Trail. He said they expect to complete this phase in late 2010.
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