Officials gathered at City Park Thursday to make a finalinspection on a new half-mile paved multi-use trail.

Project engineer Jeff Dungan announced the completion to MayorBob Massengill, Recreation Department Director Terry Reid and PearlRiver Basin Development District executives in glowing terms.

“Every now and then you get a project that goes great from topto bottom. This is one of them. Not only are we done early, butwe’re also under budget,” he said Thursday. “I think we can call itsubstantially completed today.”

The city had contracted Greenbriar Digging Service to build the10-foot wide trail for $92,600. The project was completed at justunder $83,000, however, Dungan said.

The trail is being funded through a Department of Wildlife,Fisheries and Parks Recreation Trails Program grant that willprovide 80 percent of the total cost.

The PRBDD is funding half of the city’s local matching fund forthe project, which means the city will only have to fundapproximately 10 percent of the trail’s total cost.

Dungan is presently gauging the costs to install lighting alongthe trail and believes the difference between the actual andbudgeted costs should be sufficient.

“We need to light this,” Massengill agreed. “It would be so muchsafer and they could use it longer.”

In addition, Reid said the park had already been reseeded withgrass to fill in along the trail and where construction work hadkilled it.

“I’m glad we got to do this,” said Travis Tadlock, a member ofthe PRBDD board appointed by Lincoln County supervisors. “It’sgoing to be a pretty little place.”

Tadlock said it may take a little time for word to circulatethat the trail is open, but he expected to see it full of walkers,joggers, bikers, skateboarders and other non-motorized recreationalusers soon.

“It’ll take awhile for people to catch on, but then they’ll fillit up,” he said. “It’s very nice.”

Five concrete pads along the trail for exercise equipment havealso been completed, Reid said, but it will likely be a few weeksbefore the equipment itself is available to trail walkers.

The equipment and its installation, however, will not requireany additional funding. The equipment is being donated privatelyand city crews will install it, Reid said.