Gap in Great Taste Trail to be filled during summer
The ‘‘missing link’’ in Tasman’s Great Taste Trail is set to be fixed this summer.
A 4km stretch of track in Wakefield from Pigeon Valley Rd to Hoult Valley Rd will begin construction later this year.
Nelson Tasman Cycle Trail Trust trail manager Josh Aldridge said the announcement was a ‘‘big milestone’’ for the trust.
‘‘It’s been the top priority for us,’’ he said.
‘‘[That section] has been the missing link in the chain for a few years now, so it’s satisfying to get that ticked off.’’
Currently, cyclists using the trail have to travel for 5km along State Highway 6 upon leaving Wakefield, before reconnecting with the trail near the Wai-iti Domain.
Aldridge said the design for the new section was being finalised, after the final landowner approval for the trail was received about two weeks ago.
He said the track could be completed by the end of summer, although there were still resource consents awaiting approval.
While there would still be a short 1.5km stretch of the trail on the highway from Hoult Valley Rd to the Wai-iti Domain, a track on the shoulder of the highway had been constructed to minimise the impact on traffic.
Further along the trail to the southwest, construction has begun on an extension to the Great Taste Trail from the Norris Gully Recreation Reserve to Kohatu.
The track will follow the historic railway alignment in the area, before finishing up at the Flat Rock Cafe in Kohatu.
Aldridge said construction had been going for about a month, with an expected completion date in time for the Christmas holidays.
Nelson Forests Ltd had also given a significant amount of assistance towards building that track, Aldridge said.
Following the completion of the Kohatu leg of the track, the next phase would be to extend the trail from Kohatu to Tapawera, he said.
This would follow either the historic rail embankment or the Motueka River stopbank.
With negotiations already under way with landowners on the proposed route to Tapawera, Aldridge said he was hopeful the next section of the trail could be completed by the end of 2019.