Back in 2000, Tony Harris and a few biking friends thought that there should be a commuter trail connecting the town of Smithers and the Village of Telkwa. Harris founded the not-for-profit society Cycle 16 to make the dream reality, but support was difficult to come by, and the scope of the project deterred the municipalities of Smithers and Telkwa to commit to the trail.

Then, around 2015, the plan was brought up again by Cycle 16 Vice President Jeremy Schreiber, who wanted to increase awareness and connect with partners who could help make this happen. That's where the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako came in, as well as support from the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and a handful of businesses and individuals helping to raise money along with campaign for the trail's construction.

Currently, if you want to go by bike or foot between Telkwa and Smithers, it is a 14 km drive along a busy two-to-four lane highway with maximum speed limits of 80 km/hr. The shoulder of the highway is all but gone and that stretch of road is commonly used by large trucks, transporters, as well as cars and motorcycles.

The trail will be off the highway along the right-of-way. At the Smithers end, it is planned to be along the west side of the highway. At about midway, it will cross the highway via an underpass and follow the east side of the highway to Telkwa.

Dan Boissevain, a board member of Cycle 16, spoke with CICK News about the construction of the trail and timeline for the three phases of construction.

Listen to the clip below for that interview