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CVRD receives $300,000 grant to upgrade trails

Work on Cowichan Valley Trail will begin next month
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The Cowichan Valley Regional District has received a $300,000 grant from the provincial stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program – COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure, to complete upgrades to trail surfaces along a prominent section of the Cowichan Valley Trail next month.

Beginning Feb. 1, resurfacing work will take place on the 7.5-kilometre section of the CVT between Waters Road and Hawthorne Road, with the work expected to take approximately 12 weeks.

During construction, dump trucks will be active up and down the regional trail in that area.

“We certainly appreciate how well used the Cowichan Valley Trail system is for outdoor recreation across the region by our residents and visitors,” said Brian Farquhar, the CVRD’s manager of parks and trails.

“The trail resurfacing addresses this section of the regional trail that was not improved at the time the former rail bed was converted over to trail use, so trail users will see significant improvement to their trail use experience once completed.”

Trail resurfacing construction activities will occur weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., and for safety reasons, the section of trail will remain closed to the public during this period.

Every effort will be made to open the trail on weekends and statutory holidays, with posted active construction zones informing the public of potentially loose gravel and/or uneven surfaces.

However, if the active construction zone on the trail is deemed too unsafe to open to the public over weekend periods, the trail will remain closed.

The Cowichan Valley Trail is a 120-kilometre multi-use non-motorized recreational and active transportation trail connecting communities throughout the CVRD, and is an integral part of The Great Trail route on southern Vancouver Island between Victoria and Nanaimo.

The public is also reminded that due to major washouts experienced during the atmospheric river event in November, sections of the Cowichan Valley Trail remain inaccessible or closed between Paldi and the Town of Lake Cowichan, and between Agira Road and Sherman Road.

The trail washouts are currently being assessed and remediation plans and cost estimates are being developed for funding consideration.