Mesa County received a large check on Wednesday to expand the Riverfront Trail into Fruita.

The Great Outdoors Colorado organization donated $2.9 million to the project.

The initiative was started by the GOCO board. Members thought it was important to give the community a way to enjoy the river resource we have here in the grand valley.

Mesa County applied for the grant about a year ago and was chosen to be one of seven recipients to get funding for their proposed project.

GOCO says it is happy to help out with this expansion and bring additional outdoor activities to the community.

"It's about three miles of trail that will be constructed and finished that will finally tie this piece together from almost one end of the valley to the other," GOCO board member Tom Burke said.

Officials say the grant is going to help the speed up the pace on the construction.

GOCO says Mesa County had all of the resources ready, all they needed was funding. Now, the county can begin building expanding the Riverfront to connect in Fruita.