Credit: Project construction update – Town of Danville
Construction crews install retaining walls along Diablo Road near Green Valley Creek in August 2026.
After decades on the drawing board, a trail connecting downtown Danville to the gateway of Mount Diablo State Park is taking shape along Diablo Road.
The 0.9-mile Diablo Road Trail will extend east from the existing Barbara Hale Trail and connect with a separate 0.7-mile path being built as part of the Magee Preserve development.
Together, the improvements are intended to complete a connection envisioned in the Town’s 1989 Trails Master Plan, giving people walking and bicycling a continuous route toward the state park.
The most demanding part of the work has been construction beside Green Valley Creek, where crews have been building retaining walls into a steep slope between the creek and Diablo Road. By the Town’s September construction update, three soldier-pile walls and a mechanically stabilized earth block wall were substantially complete. Some of the steel piles reach about 28 feet into the ground, supporting a trail surface above the creek and helping protect the roadway from erosion.
Crews still had drainage, backfilling, slope protection and grading to finish before laying the trail’s base and pavement. Concrete work in the creek area was completed ahead of a September 15 wildlife-agency deadline, and the contractor was working toward an October 15 deadline for permitted creek work. Farther east, near the large culvert by Alameda Diablo, work had shifted to smaller debris walls and drainage systems.
Construction has come with a familiar frustration for drivers: alternating one-way traffic on Diablo Road during the workday, including school arrival and dismissal periods. To ease morning congestion, the Town moved the start of the daily lane restriction from 8 to 8:30 a.m. and shortened the affected section. Some night and weekend work remained possible as crews raced to finish paving before wetter weather arrived.
The project includes another important piece: a pedestrian-activated HAWK crossing signal at Diablo Road and Fairway Drive. The signal will stop vehicles when trail users need to cross, linking the new route with the Barbara Hale Trail. The Town awarded the signal contract in July, and design submittals were underway at the time of the September update.
After the main trail surface is installed, crews are expected to complete handrails, guardrails, stormwater landscaping and signs. The schedule will depend on construction conditions and weather.
For Danville residents, the payoff will be more than a new stretch of pavement. When the trail and crossing are complete, a long-sought connection between downtown neighborhoods and the Mount Diablo foothills will be much closer to becoming an everyday route for walking and bicycling.
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