FRESNO, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) - Fresno's ambitious Midtown Trail project continues to progress toward completion after ground first broke on the seven-mile system of pedestrian and bicycle trails in 2022. This week, the city received the Public Works Project of the Year award from the American Public Works Association's Central California Region for the project. It came as the banks of the canal on McKinley Avenue near Fresno Yosemite International Airport looked more and more like the trail promised. Crews can be seen rapidly progressing, working with heavy machinery and hand crews, before more foundation materials are added soon. "The vision being to build walking and biking trails along the canal banks in the city to provide that same type of trail amenity and system that we enjoy in some of the newer parts of the metropolitan area," said Fresno Public Works Director Scott Mozier. The portion along McKinley, known by some as Segment 4, will be the third completed segment of the city's trail and will connect to the already completed portion on Clovis Avenue. That portion will run to Old Town Clovis, and will eventually run all the way to Manchester Center on Blackstone Avenue and Shields Avenue in Fresno. For cyclists like Kyle Lowe who frequently travel by bike from Clovis to Downtown Fresno, it's a dream come true. "The main stretch on McKinley is what I'm most excited about and that's what's being worked on. So, I can't wait for that to finally open up because that will make my commute across town way, way smoother," Lowe said. The city believes this project will not only improve air quality but also safety for those looking to get around by walking, jogging, or biking. "It's going to minimize deaths, it's going to minimize traffic accidents, so as many roads as we can have them on I really support," Lowe said. Next to come, Mozier says the city and crews will begin the final two sections along Shields Avenue and the Highway 41 interchange, and the connection route that runs between Shields and McKinley. The city expects the five segments to be complete and ready for public use by the end of 2025.