Arcata reminds public Annie & Mary Trail remains an active construction zone

Arcata is warning people not to mistake the Annie & Mary Trail for a finished path. The city says the corridor remains an active construction zone even as crews keep extending paving on a route meant to become a protected link between downtown Arcata, Cal Poly Humboldt, Valley West, Aldergrove business park and the Mad River at Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District Park 1.

The project has moved from planning to visible work over the past year. The city released construction bids on July 23, 2025, took sealed bids through Aug. 21, awarded the job to Granite Construction and set construction to begin Sept. 22, 2025. The first phase focused on the stretch between Sunset Avenue and St. Louis Road, where the city said work would first concentrate. That southern section was expected to be complete by Dec. 1, 2025, while the full trail was later projected for summer 2026, after an earlier city update had pointed to the end of 2026.

By late November 2025, the first paved quarter-mile segment had connected the Arcata Skate Park area to Cal Poly Humboldt student housing. By March 2026, paving had reportedly reached West End Road, showing that the job had advanced well beyond initial grading and vegetation clearing. Even so, the city’s reminder made clear that the route is not yet a casual-use trail and that people should stay alert around crews, barriers and traffic control devices.

Arcata has been advancing the Annie & Mary Trail for several years. The city adopted the final mitigated negative declaration and mitigation monitoring and reporting program on Dec. 21, 2022. A 2022 environmental document described the project as roughly 3.5 miles of Class I bike path with highway overpass and trailhead improvements, while the city’s project page describes it as a 3.3-mile route. Either way, the intent is the same: a separated active-transportation corridor that would let cyclists and pedestrians move across town without relying on the most stressful road segments.

The trail concept is not new. A 2020 city-commissioned report by TrailPeople and SHN laid out alternatives and highlighted connections at Sunset Avenue, the St. Louis overcrossing, Giuntoli Lane and LK Wood Boulevard. Caltrans describes the Annie & Mary Trail as part of a longer route planned to connect Blue Lake to Arcata, with the first of five segments already built in Blue Lake. Caltrans also says Humboldt County has worked with the Friends of the Annie and Mary Trail for close to 10 years, alongside the City of Blue Lake, the City of Arcata, the Humboldt County Association of Governments, Blue Lake Rancheria and the Redwood Community Action Agency.

For Humboldt County riders, students and commuters, the payoff will be a continuous protected route that changes daily travel, not just weekend recreation. Until then, Arcata says the corridor is still construction ground, not finished transportation.