The new bridge recently built on Air Ronge's Heritage Trail. (Facebook/Julie Baschuk)

By Derek Cornet

outdoor infrastructure

Air Ronge invested $90K on Heritage Trail in 2024

Feb 11, 2025 | 10:17 AM

A considerable amount of work went into Air Ronge’s Heritage Trail in 2024 with even more improvements set to occur in 2025.

Last year, village council spent nearly $90,000 on the trial with about $28,000 of that total coming from the national Trans Canada Trail (TCT) organization. Of that amount, Preston Trail Consulting was paid just under $52,000 for labour.

None of the above costs include GST.

Air Ronge Coun. Dave Smallwood said while the cost is significant, trail improvements are popular among residents and are worth the investment. He noted there is also considerable work planned for later this year.

“The original mission statement was to provide a full access boardwalk from the Heritage Park to Waco,” Smallwood remarked.

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“I believe that is 0.8 kilometers, so we are going to continue this spring, summer and fall, and put in the full boardwalk. Also, there is an additional outlook. We have identified where we want to have that outlook, so if someone in a wheelchair came along, it would be full access and we are pleased to be able to provide that.”

Preston Trail Consulting owner Matt Preston explained work he has completed so far included the removal of safety hazards, the placement of wood chips to slow down vegetation growth, two new viewpoints, and the replacement of a bridge.

The new bridge is approximately 150-feet-long by eight-feet-wide and replaces a bridge built about 15 years ago.

Preston, who is also a member of the Boreal Outdoor Recreation Association which does a significant amount of work on the La Ronge trail system, stated the Heritage Trail is rather unique and special, adding it is a very active trail for wildlife.

“I just love the location of this trail,” Preston said.

“It is so nice to have a trail right beside the river where you do see the river for 75 per cent of the trail. There are so many places to see wildlife. You can see the birds, otters, beavers and sometimes, if you are further down on the trail, you’ll see bear scat and you may even run into a bear.”

The TCT connects 15,000 rural, urban and Indigenous communities across Canada and spans over 28,000 km. Air Ronge’s Heritage Trail, which is 3.7 km and runs along the Montreal River, was accepted into the network in 2021.

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com