THE Wadandi Track "missing link" between Witchcliffe and Margaret River will finally be developed following the announcement of an $81,000 Lotteries West grant.
Witchcliffe Progress Association president Todd Giles said he was "over the moon" to hear the path taken by the former railway line between Gnarawary and Redgate roads would be developed as a continuation of the walking and cycling track after a 10 year campaign by the association.
"This has been long awaited and well driven by the Witchcliffe Progress Association and will mean a great deal to the Witchcliffe and wider community," Mr Giles said.
The four-kilometre extension of the track previously known as the Rails to Trails had been budgeted for in 2005, but was scuttled by a previous Augusta Margaret River Shire council decision.
The trail will ultimately extend from Busselton jetty to Flinders Bay.Shire manager of asset services and Wadandi Track Steering Committee chairman David Nicholson said project construction could now potentially start in October.
"There are still some fencing issues, there's a dam on one part of the rail reserve and a plantation to remove but nothing insurmountable," Mr Nicholson said.
The National Trust has also asked the shire to consult state archives to determine the true path of the original rail line which closed in the 1950s and was later removed.
The extension's total cost of $175,000 will also be funded with a $50,000 shire contribution and $44,000 from the developers of land subdivisions in Witchcliffe.
