Starting Labor Day weekend, people who enjoy walking or biking on Redding’s network of Sacramento River trails will have a new 4-mile loop trail to trek: One that links two popular pedestrian bridges flanking downtown.
Crews are wrapping up work on a new 1-mile stretch of trail along Trinity Street that connects existing trails that cross the 20-year-old Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay and the 109-year-old Diestelhorst Bridge at Benton Drive, according to Redding Transportation Planner Zach Bonnin.
Completing the loop means people who like to walk or bike will have more access to downtown shopping and restaurants as they trek the trail, according to the city.
Although the new trail officially opens Saturday, Aug. 31, it’s accessible now, Bonnin said on Thursday.
Workers will spend Friday putting the “finishing touches” on new signage, he said, and everything should be done by Labor Day weekend.
The bridge loop and the rest of the river trail system integrate the area’s urban and rural settings, a goal of Redding planners, according to the city.
The connecting trail that traces the south side of the Sacramento River includes parts of Redding's road network: Center, Trinity and Continental streets.
The route features new lighting, signage to other trails and downtown sites, and “the area’s first bicycle traffic signal” ― located at the Trinity and Market streets intersection ― for bikes to more safely cross Market Street, Bonnin said.
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The city and the California Department of Transportation began construction on the 1-mile connection in January. The project, which cost $1.62 million, is part of a larger $20 million state funded Affordable Housing and Sustainability Communities grant to redevelopment California Street buildings, according to Bonnin.
The city plans a grand opening of the loop trail sometime in autumn, with vendors, live music and family-friendly activities along the trail.
“Combined with the paved BLM (U.S. Bureau of Land Management) rail trail sections to Shasta Dam and Old Shasta, the Sacramento River Trail paved network is now over a combined 32 miles, with over 200 miles of other surface type trails connected to the network,” Bonnin said.
Jessica Skropanic is a features reporter for the Record Searchlight/USA Today Network. She covers science, arts, social issues and news stories. Follow her on Twitter @RS_JSkropanic and on Facebook . Join Jessica in the Get Out! Nor Cal recreation Facebook group. To support and sustain this work, please subscribe today. Thank you.
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: New Redding bike trail connects two popular downtown bridges
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