A local group spearheading plans to improve the Trans-Canada Trail from Altona to Gretna hopes to make more headway on the project in the new year.

Efforts to move forward on the project were slowed this year by the COVID-19 pandemic. Jake Enns, who heads up a local committee spearheading the project says the pandemic prevented them from meeting together to map out some of the proposed improvements they want to see along the trail.

Nonetheless, Enns says some of the original plans they had for the trail have changed slightly, like a proposal to plant trees along the entire five-and-a-half mile trail.

"We have since found out that there are other things that should be higher in priority like improving the surface of the trail, something for which did get donations for. So, we have a plan to put in quarter-inch down crushed rock that we'll pack along a 6-foot width. That's what we want do to do to improved the surface of the trail."

The estimated cost of smoothing out the trail surface, which was once the trackbed for the CPR line will cost between $75,000 to 100,000, according to Enns.

He adds, even though they have abandoned the idea of planting trees along the full trail, they still want to improve the trail's right-of-way.

"Things can be done on that right-of-way which is 100-feet wide. There's about 23 acres of right-of-way and farmers have been using some of that land, so we've asked them to stop so that we can plant some native grasses in there once we get some funding."

Enns says a lot of their efforts in the new year will be focused on securing the necessary funding to make the proposed improvements to the trail.