The Government launched the New Zealand Cycle Trail project in 2009 and provided funding for 18 "Great Rides" around the country.
Five were in the lower half of the South Island and three of those - the Alps 2 Ocean Cycle Trail, the Queenstown Trail and Around the Mountains Trail - already have sections open.
Central Otago reporter Lynda van Kempen checked on the progress of the other two southern Great Rides - the Roxburgh Gorge Trail and the Clutha Gold Trail.
It was a day Rod Peirce had been awaiting for five years.
The first day of construction on the Clutha Gold cycle trail was a milestone and a moment to be treasured, the chairman of the trail charitable trust said.
"It's hard to believe it's finally under way ... I've been waiting five years for this to happen," he said.
"After all the hard work and planning up until this point, it's a thrill to finally see progress on the ground."
The Roxburgh man is one of the driving forces behind the project. The trail, one of five in the lower South Island included in the New Zealand Cycle Trail project, extends from Roxburgh to Lawrence.
In recent weeks, work started on two sections of the 73km trail, a 9km section from the Roxburgh dam into Roxburgh and another 23km section from Roxburgh to the mouth of the Beaumont Gorge at Minzion Burn.
Construction started a fortnight ago on the 9km section which will link the Roxburgh dam to Roxburgh with a bridge at Butchers Creek and over the Teviot River and a roadside cycleway along the Roxburgh East road to the Roxburgh bridge.
All going to plan, the trail will be finished within 12 to 15 months, Mr Peirce said.
Each section would be "open for business" as soon as it is completed.
Two different contractors have won the tenders for the first two sections of trail and tenders are being calledprogressively for remainingsections.
"We'd do it all at once if it was possible but, logistically, we have to break it into stages to make it easier on those overseeing the project," trustee Graham Dillon, of Queenstown, said.
Finding the balance of the funding for the project is still a work in progress, but the trustees are confident of getting the money from "outside sources" and the trail being "stand-alone".
"That's something that all 18 in the national cycle trail have to be. We couldn't do this if it wasn't going to be stand-alone -we don't want to be claiming on the ratepayers, " Mr Dillon said.
Various sources of funding were being explored, including charitable trusts and business sponsors.
Trustees will attend a workshop in Wellington this month, aimed at giving cycle trail promoters ideas on marketing and how communities can capitalise on the asset.
Mr Peirce said the trust had agreement to easements over the private and public land the trail would cross.
The granting of resource consents for the Central Otago part of the trail was initially appealed to the Environment Court last year but was resolved after mediation between the parties.
Clutha Gold Trail
- 73km from Roxburgh dam to Lawrence.
- $5.5 million to build, $3.8 million from Government.
- Follows true left of Clutha to Beaumont, then through farm valleys to Lawrence.
- Work on two sections under way.
