Centennial Trail Moving Closer To Closing The Gaps Completion Of Largest Unfinished Segment To Begin This Fall
Unpublished correction: The name of Higgens Point is misspelled in this story. This information is from the Idaho Department of Parks & Recreation.
The largest unfinished portion of the Idaho Centennial Trail, a 3.5-mile stretch between Post Falls and Coeur d’Alene, is finally set for completion this fall.
After years of haggling with busi nesses and the Post Falls Highway District, trail supporters will advertise for bids on the $1.2 million job next week.
“It’s supposed to be done before the snow flies,” said Lance Bridges, a Post Falls member of the Idaho Centennial Trail Foundation.
Completion of the segment from Atlas Road west to state Highway 41 will leave only the one-mile stretch from there to Greensferry Road unfinished. That section, Bridges said, will be built as that portion of Post Falls is developed.
The new section joins the recently completed five-mile extension of trail from Silver Beach to Higgins Point. That trail includes 20 exercise stations with signs and equipment for stretching and strengthening and will mark the end of the 63-mile journey from Riverfront Park in Spokane.
The 12-foot-wide bicycle, walking and in-line skating trail currently runs west through downtown Coeur d’Alene, north up Northwest Boulevard and west again to Atlas along Interstate 90. There, recreationalists are forced to ride along streets, taking Atlas to Seltice Way.
“People will be more apt to use the trail once they can stay off that main road,” said Doug Eastwood, Coeur d’Alene’s parks director and a longtime trail foundation member.
Early plans to make that the permanent route sparked controversy. Seltice Way mill owners, Central Pre-Mix Concrete and the Post Falls Highway District feared a route along Seltice would expose them to safety liabilities.
But that portion of the trail was not as divisive as the portion through Post Falls to Greensferry. Some residents feared the trail would bring “the wrong element” through their neighborhoods.
“It hasn’t brought any more crime,” Eastwood said. “You don’t try to rob somebody’s house on a road bike - you can’t carry the television.”
The new route will continue along the freeway and meander through trees near the Huetter rest stop.
“It’ll be really dynamic - a dream from seven years ago come true,” Bridges said.
Eastwood said money for this fall’s addition has already been set aside. A state Department of Transportation grant will cover most of the construction costs. Idaho’s Centennial Trail will span 23 miles, at a total cost of more than $4 million.
Once complete, Eastwood said he expects trail planners will return their attention to the short, dangerous segment along Northwest Boulevard. Planners are negotiating with the railroad to move the trail off the busy street.
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