Riverside Drive multi-use trail project expected to start this summer

Riverside Drive at Winclare Drive where the proposed trail extension would begin in Tecumseh, Ont., on Tuesday, June 22, 2021. (Melanie Borrelli / CTV Windsor)

Construction is expected to start this summer on a multi-use trail along the riverfront in Tecumseh.

Tecumseh council learned at its Tuesday night meeting that the Riverside Drive multi-use trail project is on track.

Work on the trail on the south side of Riverside Drive from the Tecumseh-Windsor border to Manning Road is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2022.

The detailed design and tender documents will be finalized this month, according to an update presented to Council that will be posted on the town’s website.

The project is to be tendered and required property acquisitions completed by the end of the April. The next step will be the relocation of utilities that conflict with the layout of the trail.

Construction is expected to take place from July to September.

The town is receiving Canada Community Revitalization Fund support that will cover up to 75 per cent of the cost, on the condition the project is completed by the end of 2022.

The council report said meetings that started in November 2021 have been held with abutting property owners, who also received letters. There are approximately 34 properties with landscaping that extends into the trail area.

Some residents opposing the project started a campaign called Rethink the Trail. Other residents supporting the initiative formed a group called Extend the Trail.