Great Northern Trail to be resurfaced - News Article Locations on Waymarking.com

View waymark gallery

Great Northern Trail to be resurfaced

in News Article Locations

Posted by:  T0SHEA

11U E 479733 N 5481863

The Nelson-Salmo Rail Trail, also known as the Great Northern Rail Trail, after the Company which ran the railway for the greatest period of time, begins at the top of Nelson.

Now owned by the Ministry of Transportation and Highways for BC, this was once the rail line of first the Nelson and Fort Sheppard (N&FS) Railway, laid down in 1893, then, in 1898, the Great Northern Railway. It runs south for 48 km. to the town of Salmo. A rail trail, it will have maximum grades of approximately 4% as it passes through rugged mountain scenery along the valley of Cottonwood Creek, which flows north to Nelson, then the North Salmo River, which flows south through Salmo. Though going about it using different routes, they both ultimately flow to the Columbia River, the Cottonwood by way of the Kootenay River and the Salmo by way of the Pend d'Oreille River.

The trail starts right at the northern end of the parking lot, at the southern end of which is an informational sign pointing out more of the local hiking and biking trails in and around Nelson.

In use now for quite a few years, the powers that be decided in 2016 that it was time that at least some of the trail be resurfaced to make life easier or the many cyclists who use he trail. A short article in the Nelson Star, reprinted below, afforded the public a look at some of the details of the planned project

Great Northern Trail to be resurfaced

by Contributed - Nelson Star
posted May 12, 2016 at 9:00 AM
The Regional District of Central Kootenay will resurface portions of the Nelson Salmo Great Northern Trail this summer, a project that will improve drainage and create a more consistent trail surface for cyclists. The initiative is a partnership between the RDCK, Bike BC and the City of Nelson.

“Resurfacing the Great Northern Trail will make cycling easier and more accessible for everyone,” Ramona Faust, chair of the RDCK’s Nelson, Salmo, and Areas E, F, G parks commission, said in a news release. “The new granular surface, as well as the drainage work, will greatly improve trail users’ experience.”

The resurfacing/granular material specified for this project has been used successfully on a number of rails-to-trails projects in BC.

Work on this project is expected to occur in July and August and is primarily focused on the section of trail between the Mountain Station and Svoboda trailheads. Trail users should expect intermittent localized closures during drainage work construction with a full trail closure when resurfacing material is being installed. This closure is necessary due to the many vehicles which will be required to travel on the trail.
From The Nelson Star