A $500,000 grant has given major impetus to the first stage of a new cycle trail from Timaru to Tekapo with a start expected early this year. ''We hope to go to tender next month,'' Central South Island Cycle Trail spokesman Simon Bird said. Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) approved funding of $500,000 in late 2020 for the building of a 14 kilometre-long first stage, a shared use path between Washdyke and Pleasant Point. "It's part of funding to support walking and cycling initiatives around the country,'' an NZTA spokeswoman said. The project had earlier been kick-started when the Central South Island Cycle Trail successfully applied to the Timaru District Council's Covid-19 stimulus fund and received $226,358.