The popular 1.2-mile paved pedestrian pathway in east Rio Rico along Pendleton Drive and Avenida Coatimundi is to be extended eastward.

The Arizona Department of Transportation, working in cooperation with Arizona State Parks, has scheduled the $550,000 project to be completed in 2011, ADOT spokeswoman Linda Ritter said.

The project will also open up access to the Sonoita Creek State Natural Area, which encompasses 9,500 acres between Rio Rico and Patagonia.

During the past year, ADOT financed the construction of a $437,000 paved pathway, used by people of all ages for walking, skating and bicycles. It opened in April and a formal dedication is scheduled for Friday, May 29.

The 10-foot-wide paved path ends now in front of the Rio Rico Community Center. The plan calls for extending it for another two miles to the east. There, it would enter into a new parking area, and connect with the eight-mile dirt trail along the old bed of the New Mexico and Arizona Railroad, ending at Patagonia Lake.

Arizona State Park Ranger Steve Haas said the trail extension “is a project we’ve wanted since the 260 acres of land was purchased in 2002 from Avatar,” also known as Rio Rico Properties, to enlarge the natural area.

There is more preparation required. The design proposes that the pathway cross private land and move south of, and parallel to, Avenida Coatimundi. Haas said it will run along Sonoita Creek and be shaded, but will be above the flood line. The state needs to work with the property owners to determine if easements can be provided.

Haas said Rio Rico Properties is donating land south of Coatimundi Middle School to assist with the project.

Jay Ream, assistant director, parks division, for Arizona State Parks, said, the agency “has been working with ADOT and HDR Engineering to design a parking lot and trail head at the Coatimundi location. The design money is safe and mostly spent.”

That’s good, because in May, he said, ADOT reduced the annual funding for the park roads program by half, leaving $1 million per year for design and construction for the entire parks system.

Ritter said of the project: “The improvements include a new bridge or culvert and associated approach roadway construction on Pendleton Drive at Sonoita Creek; an asphalt paved parking lot on the parcel fronting Pendleton Drive, including foundations and conduit for future lighting and possible utility sleeving for power and water, allowing for a future visitor center building site; and construction of an unpaved parking area, with decomposed granite or similar surfacing, on the lot adjacent to Coatimundi Road.”

Haas said the design is to also include a few hitching posts, a kiosk and some signs. Funding for a visitor’s center isn’t included, but Arizona State Parks would like to see that in the future.

For vehicle access, the Sonoita Creek State Natural Area is entered through Patagonia Lake State Park, off of State Route 82, east of the Santa Rita Mountains. During cooler times of the year, many activities are scheduled but the visitor center is closed from April 15 to Oct. 15. The telephone number to contact a ranger is (520) 287-2791. The natural area itself is always open but when the visitor center is closed for the season, permits are issued from the Patagonia Lake State Park gatehouse or can be reserved at (520) 287-6965.

Haas said people can walk through the pedestrian gate in Rio Rico at the east end of Avenida Coatimundi into the Sonoita Creek State Natural Area but vehicles aren’t permitted.

(Reach the writer at kathleenvan@msn.com.)