Finally, the news Richmond-area mountain bikers have been waiting for for over a year: A timeline has been set for the installation of a new trail loop in Dogwood Dell. Actually, it’s not just one loop, it’s two, and local hikers should just as excited about the news. Nathan Burrell, city trails manager for the parks, said that by mid-January the infamous “SWECO Trail Dozer” will be in the Dell rough-cutting a 1.75-mile, MTB-specific loop. A separate 1.5-mile hikers-only loop will be built mostly by hand at the same time.

 This is big news because, well, any new trail is big news, and because the project has been delayed since the fall of 2010. Burrell said this week he’ll be in Dogwood Dell flagging the route for the SWECO operator to follow. Once he completes his three-or-so days of work, Burrell thinks it’ll take about 1-2 months to fully finish the trail with staff and volunteers — build bridges, hand cut some sections, etc.

The project is being paid for by a $8,000 grant that Richmond MORE won from REI back in 2010.

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