New section of city to Bluff trail opens
The latest section of track in a walkway and cycle trail connecting Invercargill and Bluff is complete.
Work has now finished on a 7.5km stretch of land between Lake St and Kekeno Pl at Awarua, and it could be as little as 18 months until a track in some form connects Invercargill and Bluff.
The latest completion, the first since 2011, means 30km of the path from Waihopai dam is usable.
The track is also part of Te Araroa Trail, the unfinished track which allows people to walk the length of New Zealand, from Cape Reinga to Bluff.
Te Araroa Trust chief executive Rob Wakelin said the trust was the stimulus funder, funding $300,000 of the project which would help complete the Te Araroa trial.
‘‘Te Araroa is complete in the sense of a line on the map but there are still a dozen construction points to take the track off the road,’’ he said.
The $450,000 project has also been funded by Environment Southland, Community Trust of Southland, Invercargill Licensing Trust Foundation and Invercargill City Council.
Environment Southland chairwoman Ali Timms officially opened the new section at the Duck Creek Bridge site on Friday.
Environment Southland director of operations and environmental information Warren Tuckey said there was a possibility a temporary track completing the trail could be finished in 18 months.
Construction of the Invercargill to Bluff walkway and cycle trail started in 2010 and work on the next phase of the track is likely to start in the next financial year.
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