Chilliwack – The City of Chilliwack is gearing up for the official opening of the Valley Rail Trail and everyone is invited! On Saturday, November 24 at 11 am, join Mayor Popove and members of Council for a bike tour along the trail.
On Wednesday, Mayor Popove and Councillors Kloot, Lum, Shields and Westeringh had a sneak peek of the Valley Rail Trail bridge over the highway.
Bike tour along the Valley Rail Trail, departing from the Airport Road trail entrance. The celebration station at Sheffield Dog Off-Leash Area (7215 Sheffield Way) following the bike tour
The Valley Rail Trail now extends from Luckakuck Way north over the Trans-Canada Highway and Chilliwack Creek to Airport Road and will provide cyclists of all abilities with a protected cycling trail that connects the north and south sides of the highway.
The trail features a cantilevered pedestrian/cyclist pathway off of the existing rail bridge over the Trans-Canada Highway complete with a slip resistant, grated fiberglass deck, a new bridge over the Chilliwack River, multiple resting bench areas, signage and traffic signals at Airport Road. The 1.2 kilometre trail has LED lighting throughout and was funded in part by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure with a one-third contribution of up to $600,000 and completed by Design-Builder Eurovia BC Ltd.
From a recommendation to investigate the practicality of a bike path along the railway right of way in the 1992 District of Chilliwack Bicycle Transportation Plan to Council funding the extension of the Valley Rail Trail in the 2013 Financial Plan, this phase of the trail has been a long time in the making.
“We are pleased to see this project reach completion,” said Mayor Popove. “The Valley Rail Trail extension is an important part of the vision for Chilliwack’s cycling network and it was made possible thanks to the hard work of many committee members, councillors and community stakeholders over the years.”
The paved, off-road, multi-use trail begins at the north end of the existing Valley Rail Trail and continues north for 1 kilometre to Airport Road. Entrance points to the new section of trail can be found at Kerr Avenue, Airport Road and Luckakuck Way.
