One of the final pieces of preparation for the extension of the Blazing Star Trail to the east side of Hayward has become a reality.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources announced last week an additional $500,000 has been allocated from the 2011 bonding appropriations to state trails toward the project, which will ensure a 1,900-foot, pile-driven bridge across Albert Lea Lake — a large part of the project.

“Having the additional $500,000 allocated to the bridge project is very good news,” said Albert Lea Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Susie Petersen. “The community is looking forward to the day this project is complete to Hayward.”

The trail currently ends at the Myre-Big Island State Park.

Petersen said she received an update about the project from Mike Hansen, the mayor of Hayward.

A meeting to update the community and the Blazing Star Trail Joint Powers Board will be scheduled for the end of September.

As of now though, she said, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officials have told Hansen that land acquisitions and easements are in the process.

Soil borings of the Albert Lea Lake bed should be executed sometime in August, while limited design of the bridge is ongoing.

She said officials hope to have a draft of the bridge design at the September meeting.

The project has been in the works for several years.

The Legislature first authorized the existence of the Blazing Star Trail in 1996. Initial funding came in 1998, and it took five years until the land deals were done so the trail could be built into Myre-Big Island State Park. The city of Hayward built a restroom in 2003, in anticipation of the trail bringing tourists to town.

In 2005, the state Legislature authorized $1.47 million in the bonding bill, with the aim of getting the trail to Hayward.

That funding had a five-year spending deadline, but during the 2010 legislative session, the Legislature extended the deadline to June 2014.

Some of that funding went to purchasing about 20 acres that will make up about three miles of the trail. Some will go toward the work on the trail itself. About four miles of trail has to be paved because one mile is in Myre-Big Island State Park.

But that wasn’t enough to pay for the engineering, the trail and the bridge — hence additional requests for money.