Concerns over people walking and cycling along a busy Southland state highway has prompted councillors to fast-track funding for a safer route.
Photo: 123rf.com
The Southland Regional Council has agreed to release three years worth of funding over one year to complete the final section of the Invercargill-to-Bluff Walk and Cycle Trail.
The council will commit almost $120,000 to complete the trail by the end of the financial year.
Sections of the trail have been opened over the past five years.
The final 16.5km leg doubles as the end of the 3000km Te Araroa Trail, which stretches from Cape Reinga to Bluff.
The regional council said it still needed other trail funders, such as the Invercargill City Council, to release funding before construction could start.