Trans-Canada Trail final P.E.I. phase begun

A forestry crew is clearing out the old railroad bed near Hazelbrook, east of Charlottetown, Friday as work begins on the final section of the Trans Canada Trail in P.E.I.

This month the Department of Transportation is cutting down trees in the area to make way for new sections of the Confederation Trail, as it is known on the Island. The new sections cover about 30 kilometres from Iona to Stratford.

Last fall the province received $1.4 million from the W. Garfield Weston Foundation and the Trans Canada Trail Fund to finish the Island sections of the trail.

"The rail corridor is here and it would stand to reason that the rest of the corridor's been developed, so some day this would be, so this is the year," said Leo Gill, who is in charge of the trail's maintenance.

"It's a spine of economic development through the rural areas, as it was when the railway was here. Like, everybody wanted the train to go to their community, now everybody wants the trail in their community."

Gill said there are a number of phases in the project. The trail should be ready by 2017.