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March, 2022 With the world-class Coronet Loop trail now open in all its glory,Queenstown Trails Trust has set sights on the next big project, opening up yet more previously inaccessible parts of the Whakatipu Basin. After four years work, an extension to the Queenstown Trail, linking Arrowtown, Arthurs Point and Tuckers Beach, is in the final stages of planning. Trails trust chief executive Mark Williams says its a really exciting project, offering people the opportunity to ditch cars and access wherever by bike. The goal here is a bike trail within 10 minutes of every community in the district, so you can hop on a bike at home, and get to cycle wherever you need to be, off-road. The new link will pick up from the existing Tuckers Beach trail and cross the Shotover River via a new 80-metre suspension bridge. Itll then head upstream, traversing parts of the Shotover Gorge, now only accessible by jetboat, before passing through an historic gold mining tunnel linking to Big Beach, below Arthurs Point. Williams believes this, in particular, will be a real highlight for trail users. Thats gonna be a really cool experience, its such a stunning, different landscape. The trail will then head from Arthurs Point along the base of Coronet Peak, connecting with the mountains backcountry trails. What excites me the most, is that it provides an option to act as a bit of a capture trail for all the new cool stuff coming down off Coronet Peak, Coronet Loop, the Hot Rod Trail everything coming down on Alan Reid Road will tie into this new trail, which will then run up towards Arrowtown beside Mill Creek, Williams says. The trail will connect to Millbrook and join the existing network as it enters Arrowtown. While the planning process has been lengthy, the trusts thankful for the permissions of landowners and the support of Queenstowns council and Department of Conservation. Its been a good combination of different stakeholders all having their say and supporting the project. The trail was given consent in July last year, with 50% of funding secured through the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employments New Zealand Cycle Trails Fund, and the other half from Central Lakes Trust and donors. Design tenders were awarded a month ago Paterson Pitts will handle trail design and Stantec will oversee structures. Its hoped a construction tender will be awarded by mid-winter and, ideally, construction will start this summer. Its a really exciting time for the trust because were in this project phase where weve been planning for so long, and all of a sudden we can start to deliver results. I guess 12 to 18 months from now wed be getting pretty close to the whole thing being done, Williams says. Source: Mountain Scene
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