Cyclists, rollerbladers and all other human-powered travellers alike can celebrate as phase one of the City of Merritt’s 700-metre multi-use trail along Voght Street has been completed ahead of schedule.

Originally earmarked to be complete by mid-September, this asphalt trail connecting the intersection of River Ranch Road  to the crosswalk between the hospital and the courthouse is officially open to public traffic.

All that crews have left to do is plant grass and install three benches along the route.

City of Merritt planning and development manager Sean O’Flaherty said the foundation for a fourth bench located at the bus stop across from the Super 8 was poured, but the bench itself will need to be funded separately from this project’s costs.

O’Flaherty said there was one deficiency with the project. The asphalt where a portion of the trail was laid down was poured too thin, and subcontractor Peter Bros. will repair that in November.

The only unforeseen, additional cost was $2,000 for a manhole at the River Ranch Road end of the trail O’Flaherty said.

“The manhole had to go in because of storm drainage,” he said. “Sometimes in the field you recognize things that you just can’t foresee when you’re doing design.”

O’Flaherty said he wasn’t sure how much the trail is costing, but main contractor, Dig-Rite, has told him they are under budget.

Financial services manager Ken Ostraat, said the city has about $25,000 in its 2015 budget for trails, and has another $50,000 it can dip into from reserve funds for trail initiatives that have snowballed from previous years.

The construction bid for the project is $133,398.

BC Hydro partnered with the City of Merritt on this project and is contributing $100,000 in support as part of the energy company’s Merritt Area Transmission Project.

The city is on the hook to cover the remaining costs.

Ostraat estimates the total cost of phase one of the project to come under the $150,000 mark.

He said a budget amendment bylaw will likely come forward in October to reflect the change in the 2015 budget this project has created.