Construction is officially under way on "the missing link" in a trail network, connecting Queenstown to, ultimately, Dunedin.

The first sod was turned yesterday afternoon on the 32km Kawarau Gorge Trail — linking the Queenstown Trails Trust network with the Lake Dunstan Trail — which will take about two years to build.

Digging the first sod in the Kawarau Gorge Trail yesterday are (from left) Otago Community Trust chairman Andy Kilsby, Central Lakes Trust chairwoman Linda Robertson, Southland MP Joseph Mooney and Southern Lakes Trails chairman Aaron Halstead. PHOTO: RHYVA VAN ONSELEN

Southern Lakes Trails chairman Aaron Halstead expected the cost would run somewhere between $8million and $10m.