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Rotary ready to start on bike path
Posted: Thursday, May 08, 2008 - 10:19:45 am PDT

Alex Strickland/Bigfork Eagle -- Rotary Club of Bigfork President Ed Nolde walks along the dirt path currently worn in the barrow ditch along Swan River Road while talking with other club members. The club will start construction on an 8-foot wide gravel path soon.

By ALEX STRICKLAND / Bigfork Eagle

The Bigfork Rotary Club will break ground on a new bike path along Swan River Road this month, and not a moment too soon if the barrow ditch alongside the road is any indication.

Along the bottom of the ditch is a well-worn path just wide enough to accommodate a bicycle. By summer's end, an eight foot wide, packed gravel path will be the preferred route, wandering along easements next to the road that have been donated for the cause.

"This is the largest service project the Rotary Club of Bigfork has ever undertaken," said club President Ed Nolde. "The outpouring of support has been overwhelming."

The trail will run south from the junction of Swan River Road and Highway 83, which is met from the north by a 1.5-mile section of trail that extends from the Swan River School to Mud Lake Road.

Eventually, Nolde said, the trail will be extended to connect with the Wild Mile trail so that there would be continuous bike and pedestrian paths from the Echo Lake area all the way to downtown Bigfork.

Property owners Sherry O'Hearn, William and Debra Doney and the late Jack and Ruth White all donated easements along their property so the path can be built back from the road.

Flathead County has given permission for construction in their right-of-way where easements could not be obtained.

Though one portion of the trail will get under way shortly, Nolde warned that the whole project could take years.

"We'll build as much each year as we can afford," Eric "Doc" Boughton, a club member, said.

The club has already raised $10,000 for the trail, including grants from the Plum Creek Foundation and Flathead Electric's Roundup for Safety. Flathead Living Magazine is also hosting a silent auction to benefit the group at their May 29 re-launch party at Flathead Lake Lodge.

For more information on the trail or the club, contact Nolde at 837-4383.

Tax-deductible donations may be made to Rotary District 5390, P.O. Box 2224, Bigfork, MT 59911. Anyone wishing to donate fill dirt should contact Rick Trembath ay 261-7519.

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