Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) Directors endorsed the submission of a $13 million grant application to the Federal Investing in Canada Infrastructure grant program to fund the development of the Sicamous to Armstrong Rail Trail.
The $13 million grant would cover costs associated with the development of a non-motorized, greenway trail along the former CP Rail corridor.
In December 2017, the CSRD and Regional District of North Okanagan (RDNO) jointly purchased approximately 50 kilometres of abandoned CP rail corridor between Sicamous and Armstrong. Splatsin of the Secwepemc First Nation previously purchased approximately seven kilometres of the abandoned railway.
The CSRD and RDNO subsequently entered into an agreement with Splatsin to jointly use their portion of the rail corridor and formed a partnership to work together to develop the trail.
RELATED: Regional district seeks $13 million to get rolling on
“The next step is to develop the trail for public use, including the planning, development and construction of the rail trail corridor,” said CSRD communications coordinator Tracy Hughes. “The CSRD, RDNO and Splatsin are forming a committee with the Shuswap Trail Alliance acting in an administrative support role. The governance committee will meet in March to discuss management and planning for the rail corridor.”
The $13 million application includes the development of a trail for pedestrian and cycling use with amenities such as benches, picnic tables and vault toilets installed along the route.
The amount of money requested in the application was determined based on recent engineering estimates and actual development costs from the Okanagan Rail Trail from Coldstream to Kelowna.
The development of the rail corridor is dependent on successful receipt of grant funding from senior levels of government.
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