City of Kelowna looking for bids for completion of the final phase of the Okanagan Rail Trail

Photo: City of Kelowna

Test section photos

Nearly five years after the grand opening, the completion of the Okanagan Rail Trail may be on the horizon.

The nearly 50 kilometre former CN Rail line stretching from downtown Kelowna to Coldstream in the North Okanagan was purchased by several jurisdictions in December of 2014 for $22 million to be converted into a multi-use corridor.

Over the years most of the path has been complete except for a 6.4 kilometre stretch from Old Vernon Road just north of the Kelowna airport to 500 metres north of Beaver Lake Road.

The holdup to complete that phase of the rail trail which runs through a portion of Okanagan Indian Band lands was the ability of the band to get title on the land from Ottawa.

While it's unclear whether that title has been granted, the City of Kelowna is now going ahead and seeking a bid to complete that portion of the rail trail.

The bid process for Phase 3 closes April 5.

The estimated budget for the project is $1.3 million.

"The works include clearing and grubbing, trail construction, gravel placement, fence removal and installation, pedestrian overhead flashers, timber bridge pedestrian improvements, miscellaneous signs and posts, and related works," the bid summary states.

A summary of work to be done includes:

• 5,900 linear meters of clearing and grubbing
• 6,600 linear meters of trail construction
• 26,500 square meters of gravel placement
• 4,500 linear meters of fence removal and installation
• 2 pedestrian overhead flashers
• 2 Eco-counter trail classification counters
• Timber bridge pedestrian improvements
• Miscellaneous signs and posts

The bid suggests a start date no sooner than two weeks after a contract is executed with substantial completion by Aug. 31.

To date, 33 companies have accessed at least some of the documents required to put in a bid.