Work under way on new waterfowl park trail

Work has finally gotten under way on a new trail in the waterfowl park that will be open to both walkers and cyclists in the community.

Local contractors got going last week on the trail expansion, following town council's approval of the most recent tenders authorizing the next stage in the project.

Because of the lengthy delays over the past year in getting the Department of Environment's approval for the new trail, the town is now "going to do all the phases of the project at once," said Todd Cole, acting director of parks and recreation for Sackville.

The town only recently got the go-ahead from the province, receiving a permit just last month from DOE after nearly a year of discussions over how to best approach development of the new trail.

Cole said the new trail will include a partially-bermed pathway with floating boardwalk sections.

At a total cost of about $140,000, the new trail will replace the existing one that runs parallel to the highway, allowing for a widening of the pathway as well as bringing it to higher ground. An added bonus of the new trail is the opportunity to link the Trans-Canada trail over to the Sackville's Visitor Information Centre, so cyclists will have a route to take that doesn't cross the four-lane highway.

Tenders for the work and required boardwalk sections were awarded during council's monthly meeting Oct. 13.

Council awarded the tender for trail improvements to Beale & Inch Construction in the amount of $43,650 plus HST. This tender is in addition to tenders previously awarded to Beale & Inch last summer for part one and two of the project.

Council also authorized the purchase of boardwalk and float sections from Kennebec Marine of Maine in the amount of $64,435 (US).

Since only about $50,000 was set aside in this year's parks and recreation budget for the project, council was also required to transfer $78,000 from the town's reserve fund to ensure the project could proceed.