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Greenway Trail’s 2nd phase<br>sees progress in village area

GC VILLAGE — Only a few months after the first segment of the Grand Canyon Greenway opened, trail construction workers continued to work on phase II last week in hopes of laying down asphalt sometime this week.

Work on the Greenway’s phase II continues in the village area.

Michael Terzich, project manager, said Thursday "we’re hoping to pave next week ... but we’re in a race with the weather coming in. You can’t lay asphalt if it’s colder than 45 degrees."

Workers were preparing the trail for the paving stage last week in several spots along the route from Canyon View Information Plaza toward Amfac’s general offices in the village.

"We’re stopping 500 feet short ... to make sure it’s more compatible with the historical trails in the area," Terzich said.

With many pedestrians and bicyclists choosing to get around the village area on the main road, GCNP officials hope to make sure everyone knows the trail will be there for them to use.

"A lot of signage is to be done to get people used to it ... and use it safely," said the park’s Tom Pittenger, who sits on the transportation transition team.

Signs will go up alongside the road to alert visitors of the trail.

Terzich said that besides the signage program, there are also plans to promote use of the trail in publications and on maps.

The Pulliam grant through Grand Canyon National Park Foundation and a transportation enhancement grant from the Arizona Department of Transportation are helping fund that stretch of the trail.

Pacific General is the main contractor on the project.

Phase I of the Greenway was not entirely completed last summer. There is still a segment to be finished from Mather Point to the Pipe Creek Overlook, which is the westernmost overlook on Desert View Drive. Terzich said paving on that segment of the trail is scheduled for next spring.

The segment of phase I that opened last summer was a stretch from Mather Point to Yavapai Observation Station.

Officials are now in the planning stages for the third phase of the trail system.

"We’re in the midst of preparing an environmental assessment to go out to the public," Terzich said. "We’re within a week of getting that out."

The third phase will include trail construction from CVIP out to the proposed Grand Canyon Transit Center site north of Tusayan. Previous announced plans called for phase three to begin next summer.

The Greenway will eventually feature 73 miles of trails on both rims of the Canyon.

The South Rim trails in the system will total 45 miles — 38 miles from Desert View to Hermits Rest and seven miles from CVIP to Tusayan.

Plans for the North Rim portion of the Greenway include a 28-mile network of trails extending from Grand Canyon Lodge to the proposed transit center at C.C. Hill near the North Kaibab Trailhead, then out to Neal Spring and Cape Royal.


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