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City of Austin does not yet have a plan for landslide mitigation at Shoal Creek

A landslide in May damaged Shoal Creek, and the trail off of Lamar Boulevard has yet to be reopened.

AUSTIN — More than five months after a landslide damaged Shoal Creek, the trail off of Lamar Boulevard remains closed.

The landslide back in May affected four homes and still has not been stabilized.

Concrete and debris lay scattered across the trail.

Robert Cahn and Jan Rooker are two of the many people who use the trail.

“Wish it was fixed,” Cahn said.

"We like coming here because we have a dog that can go off leash in this area," Rooker said.

They have to detour along Lamar Boulevard from the off-leash park near Shoal Creek Boulevard to continue.

"We met a woman on the trail earlier today, and we asked her about it,” Rooker said. “We said, 'How long has it been closed?' And she said, 'Since May.' That's a long time."

Back in May, a landslide destroyed backyards and the trail, covering about two acres.

The city said cracks formed in the limestone, which allowed rain water to saturate the clay underneath that then gave way.

“I’d really like to see it fixed,” Melanie Camara, a trail cyclist, said.

The city does not yet have a time for when the trail will be fixed or how much it will cost.

The Watershed Department is working with a landslide contractor on designs.

If passed, Proposition C on the current ballot could fund re-construction.

"Nobody has said, ‘We have a three-part plan and these are the phases,’” Cahn said.

For now, runners and cyclists have to detour for about 1800 feet to 24th Street and Lamar from the off-leash park.

"It's definitely an inconvenience, yeah,” runner Rodolfo Rodriguez said. “I was so used to just running my routine trail and, now that it's closed, I just have to change.”

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