Tigard's Ash Creek Nature Link greenway will move forward in phases after a July funding shortfall nearly killed the project.

City communications manager Kimberlee Ables confirmed Sept. 17 that Tigard will use the $2.32 million already in hand to build the paved trail and restore about 12.82 acres of wetland.

OregonLive reported the development Monday, Sept. 21. Boardwalk segments, signage, benches and lighting will wait for a second phase.

The trail will run from Southwest Oak Street to 95th Avenue. Renderings show it could eventually include a pedestrian bridge over Oregon 217.

City documents indicate the greenway could also connect the Fanno Creek Trail, which stretches more than 15 miles from Tualatin to Portland, to the Metzger Park area.

The project looked dead in July when Metro Council voted to award Tigard just $1.5 million of the nearly $3.9 million the city had requested. Metro staff had recommended full funding. The council redirected remaining dollars to other regional projects, including $3 million to Working Theory Farm in Hillsboro and $1 million to the Bird Alliance of Oregon, as OregonLive first reported in August.

Full funding would have let Tigard complete the nearly $6.6 million project outright. City officials had called the greenway "shovel-ready" before the Metro setback.

Three private partners who agreed to donate land for the trail still plan to follow through, Ables said. One property owner requires construction to be finished by November 2029.

Tigard and Clean Water Services drew up new plans to keep the greenway aligned with a sewer pipeline replacement the agency has scheduled. Ables said coordinating the two projects saves money on both.

Mayor Yi-Kang Hu said he pushed for the project during Metro's grant process. "I'm proud of our staff and partners for finding a way to move the first phase forward while protecting valuable wetland habitat," Hu said.

When the funding gap first surfaced, Hu called the greenway "a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Tigard and the region" in OregonLive's Aug. 12 reporting.

The city plans to pursue future grants to fund the second phase.

No start date for construction has been announced.