The Grand Trunk Pathway, popularly referred to as the millennium trail, will be lengthened by 830 metres (just over 900 yards) westward toward Frank St. this summer if all goes as planned.
The city has dubbed this extension The Grand View Walk because the view gets especially fresh along the new strip, said city development services director David Block.
The three-metre wide paved pathway will extend from the trail’s western end which is now right across the road from the Hwy16 and Kalum Lake Road/Hwy 113 junction.
The extension will take the pathway network west, ending just shy of the CN level crossing at Frank St.
The total cost of the extension is $286,300 with $153,500 of that coming directly from a provincial grant.
Block said that a combined $30,000 in the form of grants from BC Hydro and CN means the city will be able to pretty up the sides of the path, though not to the same degree as the existing route. The landscape style will be more rugged, Block said, less manicured, favouring a seeded lawn and taller trees instead of ornamental shrubs.
“The plan is to start construction pretty soon,” Block said, but was unable to give an exact date because a final design can’t be done until a geotechnical study determines what the effect will be on adjacent Hwy16.
The paved path will end at a turn-around with benches and waste disposal bins, Block said. A gravel path might be added to connect it with Frank St.
The city hopes to finish the extension by this September at the latest.
The name millennium trail comes from the construction of the existing longer section, a City of Terrace project in the 2000 millennium year.