Construction of nearly five miles of multiuse trail for walkers, hikers, trail runners and mountain bikers on Western Carolina University’s campus will begin this spring.

The trail will be built on WCU’s West Campus, where the $46 million Health and Human Sciences Building is nearing completion off of Little Savannah Road — on the other side of N.C. 107 from the main part of campus. The trail will be used to support academic programs, such as recreational therapy and parks and recreation management.

The initial access point will be from the Health and Human Sciences Building, and the trail will feature a natural surface and the width of single-track trail.

Members of the community can assist with construction of the trail under the direction of a professional trail-building company and attend a trail-building workshop on March 24 presented by an International Mountain Bicycling Association Trail Care Crew.

The free event, hosted by WCU and the Nantahala Area chapter of the Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association and IMBA, will include a 9 a.m. to noon classroom session, lunch, afternoon work on the trails and free 7 p.m. screening of “Pedal Driven, a Bike-umentary” in the multipurpose room in A.K. Hinds University Center. Volunteers are asked to register at www.imba.com/tcc/schedule to allow organizers to plan for food, tools and space.

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