A proposed new section of trail along Shades Creek in Birmingham will link existing trail portions along the creek from Irondale into Mountain Brook.

The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday approved a plan to pay $239,900 to Freshwater land Trust for consulting and project management of a new Shades Creek Greenway trail in Birmingham.

The trail will link the Irondale Furnace Trail in Mountain Brook eastward to Birmingham’s Flora Johnston Nature Preserve near Eastwood Mall at Irondale.

“This is a huge expansion of the Lakeshore Trail,” said Birmingham City Council member Hunter Williams in an interview after the meeting. “There will be an additional vote next week for the actual construction cost.”

Since it will be using funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, construction will be required to be done by 2026, he said.

“You’ll be able to go all the way from the Flora Johnson Nature Trail, all the way down Shades Creek, then end up on Mountain Brook Parkway system, then down in Homewood on the Lakeshore Trail,” Williams said. “This will be a huge expansion of the Red Rock Trail System,” Williams said.

The city will also vote soon on allocating more than $1 million toward construction of the trail, Williams said.