The 177-kilometre Coastal Link Trail project in southern New Brunswick has hit a major milestone.
A ribbon-cutting was held in St. Stephen on Saturday to mark the completion of the first two-kilometre segment.
Cherie Stewart, implementation manager with the Southwest New Brunswick Service Commission, said the Coastal Link will eventually create the longest linear trail in the world.
“We are planning to connect the East Coast Greenway, which currently ends in Maine, to the rest of The Great Trail that currently starts in Vancouver and crosses Canada,” said Stewart.
The East Coast Greenway is the longest biking and walking route in the United States. The 4,800-kilometre trail connects 15 states and 450 cities and towns from Florida to Maine.
The Great Trail, formerly known as the Trans Canada Trail, is the longest recreational trail in the world. It expands over 24,000 kilometres and connects the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific coasts.
Stewart said the trail will run along the coast of the province and highlight a number of communities between St. Stephen and Saint John.
“Saint Andrews, St. George, New River Beach, Lepreau. It will also highlight the Musquash area and Spruce Lake and then end in Rockwood Park,” she said.
The Coastal Trail will be developed segment-by-segment and will take at least the next 10 years to complete, said Stewart.
“We have to work with various municipalities, local service districts and obviously just the funding for the project. It will take some time to build it,” she said.
Stewart said their goal is to complete the trails in individual communities first and then connect the rural segments toward the end of the project.
