LOVELAND — Two years from now a paved trail will connect Loveland and Fort Collins, offering two-wheeled commuters a safer route between the cities and expanding existing recreation options by connecting 65 miles of trail.

Great Outdoors Colorado announced Wednesday that Larimer County will receive a $999,550 grant for the Longview Corridor Trail that will connect Loveland’s Sunset Vista Natural Area by trail to Fort Collins’ Cathy Fromme Prairie, both along Taft Avenue (Shields Street in Fort Collins).

The project garnered a $1 million grant from the Colorado Department of Transportation earlier this year, and the remaining estimated $2 million will be shared by Larimer County, Loveland and Fort Collins.

“It’s the first Loveland to Fort Collins connection,” said Jeffrey Boring, resource specialist with the Larimer County Department of Natural Resources.

“Loveland has a great trail system and so does Fort Collins, but they have been disconnected.”

The project will start on the southwest corner of 57th Street and Taft Avenue in Loveland at a spot where the existing city recreation trail dead ends and will include improvements to help pedestrians and cyclists safely cross the busy intersection.

Then at Sunset Vista, which is on the northeast corner of the intersection, a trailhead and parking area will be built.

From there, another 4.5 miles of trail will continue north to the Cathy Fromme Prairie Natural Area, which is off Shields Street between Trilby and Harmony Roads. There, it will tie into the Fossil Creek trail that winds throughout Fort Collins.

The new trail will include a 10-foot-wide paved section as well as a parallel soft surface path that is 4 feet to 6 feet wide.

The project is currently in the permitting process, and Boring expects that construction will begin this time next year and last about one year. He estimates the trail will open in the summer of 2017.

The grant from Great Outdoors Colorado was a further investment in a region that has already benefited from lottery grants. The grant announcement reports that this trail corridor will pass through five open spaces and natural areas that have benefited from lottery funding and that GOCO has invested nearly $3 million previously in outdoor recreation opportunities that will be connected by the project.

In addition, the project also offers a safe alternative to cycle, run or hike from Loveland to Fort Collins.

“As the county grows, there’s a greater demand for trails,” said Boring. “There’s also a demand for non-motorized transportation. We also see it as an alternative for riding from Fort Collins to Loveland.”

Pamela Johnson: 970-669-5050, ext. 526, johnsonp@reporter-herald.com, www.twitter.com/RHPamelaJ.