Brockville Ontario - The city of Brockville is less than a month away from celebrating the opening of phase one of its new Railway Tunnel Park.
 
Phase one of the project includes restoration of the 157-year-old tunnel and landscaping of the former CP property immediately north of the tunnel, south of the main CN rail corridor in the city.
 
Phase two includes proposed redevelopment of the former Grand Trunk Railway lands also south of the CN corridor and west of the tunnel, with a proposed new Roundhouse-style visitors centre and tour bus parking area, as well as proposed improvements at Brockville's existing Armagh Sifton Price Park, explains a media statement and the tunnel project website.
 
The renovated facilities will become the newest section of the city's Brock Trail recreational pathway.
 
Features of the restoration include a new paved concrete floor, drainage system, and energy efficient LED architectural lighting for safety and to highlight the tunnel's architecture and geology.
 
More than 700 Philips Color Kinetics Color Graze Powercore LED fixtures, containing 2,800 individually controllable colour nodes, were installed.
 
Canada's first railway tunnel was completed in 1860 for the Brockville & Ottawa Railway and later owned by the Canadian Pacific Railway until being acquired by the City of Brockville in 1983.
 
The City of Brockville Railway Tunnel Committee announced last November that its fund raising campaign had raised more than $3.2 million.
 
The committee also received a grant of $250,000 from the Ontario 150 Community Capital fund in March.
 
The official opening of the renovated railway tunnel at Railway Tunnel Park will take place 12 Aug 2017.
 
Author unknown.