Arsonist burns bridge on Polly Ann Trail

BikeFitness.net is reporting that arsonists set fire to a trail bridge just north of Clarkson Road in Orion Township.

The arson occurred early this morning. There was still fire retardant foam on the trail and over the creek leading to a pond. There’s no way the bridge can be repaired. It was an old railroad trestle that had just been given a new surface. It will need to be to be taken completely out and replaced. That sure isn’t going to happen any time soon.

There is a $5,000 reward for tips leading to the arrest and/or conviction of those responsible.

For photos and additional information, visit the BikeFitness.net web site.

I-275 Metro Trail work to begin

First, the I-275 Bike Path now has a new name: the I-275 Metro Trail. Since the trail is not just for biking, this makes sense. It’s also (mostly) within MDOT’s Metro Region.

HometownLife (via Erie Hiker) has an article on the I-275 Metro Trail reconstruction efforts.

MDOT is in the process of advertising for a contractor for the $4 million project and, according to MDOT project manager Gorette Yung, expects to have one chosen by October. She said work is expected to begin in the spring and by complete by fall 2010.

Since this is using stimulus funding, this project has a hard deadline.

In addition to  this work, MDOT is continuing to make progress on the M-5 Metro Trail between 13 Mile and 14 Mile. It’s expected that this trail will go out to bid this fall with construction beginning in spring of 2010.

Rail-Trail expansion keeps moving forward

The Spinal Column has reported on the recent progress with the Huron Valley Trail expansion.

The Commerce, Walled Lake and Wixom Trailway Management Council has approved a regional master plan for the Michigan Airline Railroad Corridor that stretches through those communities, and has set out to obtain grants that would cover the cost of acquiring the railroad corridor property.

This trail segment will be critical in that it completes a missing section of the cross-state Michigan Airline Trail. It’ll also connect with Phase II of the M-5 Metro Trail which runs between 14 Mile and Maple and is scheduled to be developed in 2010-2011.

Fixing up the Macomb Orchard Trail

There’s a pretty loose and rocky section of the Macomb Orchard Trail that makes biking less than enjoyable. The good news is a 6-inch layer of fines will be layered on top next spring. This new layer should firm up the trail. The same solution was used on a loose section of the Paint Creek Trail many years ago.

Tags: Huron Valley Trail, I-275, M-5, Macomb Orchard Trail, MDOT, Polly Ann Trail, vandalism

This entry was posted on Monday, August 17th, 2009 at 6:16 pm and is filed under Trails. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.