The Beverly Bridge across the Columbia River will connect the two parts of Washington state's Palouse to Cascades Trail early next year.

Image Credit: FACEBOOK/Palouse to Cascades Trail Coalition

A former rail bridge across the Columbia River will open to cyclists early next year and connect two segments of one of the longest rail trails in the United States.

At about 465 kilometres, the Palouse to Cascades Trail will stretch from just outside Seattle to the Idaho border south of Spokane.

The Beverly Bridge is being retrofitted at a cost of US$5.5 million with new decking and rails to make it safe for cyclists and walkers. It’s near the centre of the trail northeast of Yakima.

“People will come from around the country to use this new bridge, both for short- and long-distance trips,” Kevin Belanger, manager of trail planning for the national Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is quoted as saying in an article about the bridge on the Cascade Bicycle Club’s web page.

Washington State is repeatedly ranked as the most bicycle friendly state in the country, according to the article.

Unfortunately, that friendliness doesn’t currently extend to the Canadian border at Osoyoos where the 300 km rail trail from Sicamous to Osoyoos will connect with trails in that part of the state.

READ MORE: Trail of the Okanagans wants to go international

“An active railway goes all the way from Oroville to Wenatchee but it’s an active railway because they have all the lumber up in Oroville,” Osoyoos councillor Myers Bennett told iNFOnews.ca.

Bennett was instrumental in pulling together trail enthusiasts from Canada and the U.S. to work on trail connections between the two countries in 2019 but those talks have been derailed by COVID, although there are still email exchanges.

There are trails south of the border that do go from Omak to Winthrop to down near Seattle along Highway 20, Bennett said. According to Google maps that’s a 450 km journey by car.

The alternative would be to head for the eastern end of the Palouse to Cascades Trail south of Wenatchee but that’s another equally long journey.

Bennett, and trail supporters, are working with First Nations in Westbank, Penticton and Osoyoos to try to connect some of the missing links in the Kelowna to Osoyoos section of  the trail.

Penticton Indian Band Chief Greg Gabriel is more supportive of opening Penticton lands to a rail trail than his predecessors, Bennett said.

Westbank is already building part of the trail along Campbell Road in West Kelowna.

READ MORE: Filling the gaps: Efforts ramping up to complete cycling trail from Sicamous to Osoyoos

Another major missing piece is a route around Vaseux Lake.

The rail line runs through an environmentally sensitive area but a study has shown that the trail can be constructed to avoid environmental impacts. As it is now, the trail is marked closed but is well used, Bennett said.

READ MORE: Rail Trail along Vaseux Lake a distinct possibility

Trail developers are trying to get as stewardship agreement from senior governments in order to move ahead with more detailed studies on how to build that link, Bennett said.

Talks area also happening to get route up Drought Hill at the north end of Peachland to connect to West Kelowna.

READ MORE: A trail from Sicamous to Osoyoos depends on West Kelowna to Peachland problem

Fundraising continues for the Sicamous to Armstrong rail trial. It’s expected that the first 20 km at the north end and four kilometres near Enderby will open next year.

READ MORE: $500K of funding in place to open first half of Shuswap North Okanagan Rail Trail

See the full Palouse to Cascades Trail story here.

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