It takes a lot of patience to work on a project for eight long years with very little physical evidence to show for it, but for those who have worked on the Blazing Star Trail, that patience is beginning to pay off.

Though the city of Albert Lea already had 1.9 miles of trail, the bigger dream of the planners has always been to make a link between Albert Lea and Austin. This summer they will get 4.5 miles closer.

&uot;It’s nice to be involved in a project where you see this kind of outcome,&uot; said Matt Benda, who has been involved with the trail association during the past five years. &uot;It’s also great because it’s long term, something that will be here forever.&uot;

Members, volunteers and officials, past and present, who have helped to get the Blazing Star Trail going and have kept it moving gathered Thursday night to officially start phase II of the trail plan, connecting Albert Lea with Hayward.

Though this summer’s construction won’t reach Hayward, it does take a large bite out of the project as a whole.

&uot;I’m looking forward to getting some more trail down and using it,&uot; Joel Wagar, an area supervisor for the Department of Natural Resources, said. Wagar has been working on the project since its beginning. He said he has been impressed with the dedication shown by those involved in the project.

The trail will be paved from the existing pieces near Garfield Avenue and Front Street out to Interstate 35. The trail will go under the highway and then travel adjacent to it for a short while, turning then into the Myre-Big Island State Park where it will wind through to the shore of Albert Lea Lake. That is where the summer’s construction will stop.

Taking it through the park, and the way it will wind through the park, are very important to the trail plan as a whole.

&uot;The philosophy of this trail is to get people through places that they can’t see by car,&uot; said Jerry Hickman, the president of the trail association. &uot;We also wanted to make it accessible for everyone, from little kids to their grandparents.&uot;

&uot;To be able to go from here to the state park will be great,&uot; Benda, an avid bicyclist, said.

The construction is being done by Ulland Brothers, a local company. It will begin on June 15 and finish by early November. The company will lay down a ten-foot-wide paved path along the trail.

Mayor Jean Eaton said the trail’s expansion will be a tourism draw for the city. She added that bike trails draw in large amounts of tourist dollars.

&uot;This is a big day for Albert Lea,&uot; said Eaton, who has been involved in the project since 1995. &uot;It’s been a long time coming.&uot;