Construction is starting on the $2.5 million Valley Rail Trail North expansion over Highway 1, from Luckakuck Way to Airport Road in Chilliwack. The trail was formerly the Sardis Rail Trail but was renamed to reflect the planned extension of the cyclist/pedestrian friendly pathway. (City of Chilliwack map)

Construction is starting on the $2.5 million Valley Rail Trail North expansion over Highway 1, from Luckakuck Way to Airport Road in Chilliwack. The trail was formerly the Sardis Rail Trail but was renamed to reflect the planned extension of the cyclist/pedestrian friendly pathway. (City of Chilliwack map)

Valley Rail Trail expansion work to connect over the highway has begun

Building the cantilever bridge over TCH to take most of the summer

It will be the long-awaited link in the cycling network, connecting north and south Chilliwack over Highway 1.

Construction is set to start soon on the Valley Rail Trail expansion north to Airport Road. The rail trail, formerly the Sardis Rail Trail, was so named because it ran alongside the tracks in Sardis, is for cyclists and pedestrians and has been in the sights of planners for years.

READ MORE: $2.5M path means better cycling network

Fence building should begin this week, said city staff, and construction will be ongoing most of the summer.

Coun. Sam Waddington put an update on social media recently about the project: “As the Chair of the Transportation Committee at the City of Chilliwack, I am so excited to announce that we are finally starting construction of this vital connection for the Valley Rail Trail over Highway 1.

READ MORE: The spine of the network

“This link will connect Sardis and Chilliwack and make cycle commuting across our City safer and faster!

Waddington also gave a shout-out to Cycle Chilliwack:

“Thank you to Cycle Chilliwack for the vital advisory and advocacy role that you played in getting the City’s new Cycle Vision Plan up and off the ground,” he wrote.

Council started planning the project back in 2011/2012.

“Glad we are making headway, and glad that the council of the day had the foresight to invest in cycling infrastructure,” Coun. Jason Lum commented.


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Chilliwack Progress