SANTA CLARITA / ANTELOPE VALLEY : 25-Mile Trail Project Along Santa Clara River Off to Slow But Sure Start : Recreation: The 1st segment opened in May. Plans for the next, more costly portion are still incomplete.

SANTA CLARITA —  Just as a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step, so too has a shorter trek in Santa Clarita.

The first two-mile segment of a planned $8.2-million, 25-mile trail network along the Santa Clara River opened in May.

Called the South Fork Trail because it follows the river’s southern branch, it includes a 16-foot-wide asphalt lane for pedestrians and bicyclists and an adjacent path for equestrians.

But plans for the most difficult, largest and most expensive segment of the project, which will cost $5.3 million and cover 14.5 miles, have yet to be completed.

The segment will run along the riverbed from the Golden State Freeway on the west to the Shadow Pines neighborhood on the east.

“One of the things that’s going to make this so difficult is that we have three bridges in a very short length that are going to require undercrossings,” said Roland Leclair, the city park development coordinator involved with the trail’s design.

Santa Clarita expects to complete negotiations sometime this week with BSI Consultants Inc. on a contract worth about $98,000 to design the segment, trails coordinator Joe Inch said.

The final design should be finished by April, Inch said, with construction taking four to six months.

Although city officials shy away from pinpointing the trail’s exact path, initial suggestions have it running along the river’s northern edge.

Planners hope to hear what residents want during public meetings on Thursday and Nov. 9 at Canyon Country Park.

Inch said city officials will be “developing the construction plan and working with the community to make sure we’ve addressed all of their needs.”

Santa Clarita’s overall trail network, which the city hopes to complete in three to five years, eventually will link the city’s four main communities--Valencia, Saugus, Newhall and Canyon Country--and be used by recreational bicyclists as well as hikers.

“The vision of a communitywide bike trail is starting to become a reality,” said Rick Putnam, city director of parks, recreation and community services.

“The planning process, which will involve our citizenry, is the beginning of the move into Canyon Country, which will eventually link the entire (city).”

Regional transportation officials support the trail because of its benefit to commuting cyclists.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority awarded Santa Clarita a $1.1-million grant to build the river trail, adding it to $800,000 in similar funds awarded last year. Both awards are contingent upon the city’s matching 25% of the grants.

As part of the plan, the city has modified plans to widen Santa Clarita’s primary east-west thoroughfare, Soledad Canyon Road.