More links coming to Border to Border Trail

Wednesday, March 23, 2011 | Source: Concentrate

The days of rutting along in covered wagons are gone, but alternative transportation is coming full circle. Over the next few months the Border to Border Trail will be getting a couple more links in what will ultimately be a 35-mile non-motorized path following the Huron River clear across Washtenaw County.

Construction has started on a half-mile segment of trail that will run from downtown Dexter to Warrior Creek Park, ford a new bridge over Mill Creek, and extend up to Huron Mills Metropark. The project cost is $500,000, a large part of which is the bridge construction. The county has also received grant funding to connect this new portion north for three miles all the way up through Hudson Mills Metropark – a project slated for 2012, says Coy Vaughn, superintendent of park planning for Washtenaw County.

And this summer a 1.5-mile path will be laid from the Wayne County border to tie into Lakeside Park in Ypsilanti Township. That segment will cost $300,000.

About 17-18 miles of the trail, made of 10-foot wide asphalt and boardwalks through wetland portions, has been completed thus far, Vaughn says.

In other developments, Washtenaw County is partnering with the city of Ypsilanti to write an application for a $300,000 grant from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund to build a bridge over the Huron River from Riverside Park to the Water Street area.

As the trail is non-vehicular, Vaughn says, "Right now we have a route around Ypsilanti that relies a lot on sidewalks and bike lanes. There is an alternative route, but the long term goal is to get it completely off-road. So that is a key link in the B2B Trail."

Source: Coy Vaughn, superintendent of park planning for Washtenaw County
Writer: Tanya Muzumdar