MDOT seeks input on a Huron Valley Trail detour
There is a bridge that carries I-96 traffic over the Huron Valley Trail just east of Milford Road. As part of a larger freeway construction project, MDOT wants to replace the bridge with a low maintenance box culvert. (The Huron Valley Trail currently passes under Kensington Road in a box culvert at Island Lake State Recreation Area.)
When MDOT initially asked the Huron Valley Trail committee about creating a detour, they declined. It appears some minds have changed.
MDOT is now hosting a public meeting to discuss having a trail detour.
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is making improvements in your community. The Huron Valley Trail is expected to be closed under the railroad bridge in the Spring of 2011 & we need your help. On October 13, 2010, stop by anytime between 3pm-7pm to share your ideas and be a part of the planning process.
We’ll be at the Lyon Township Municipal Center, 58000 Grand River Ave about½ mile west of Milford Rd.
See you there!
For more information, call Sue Datta at (248) 483-5135.
It seems to us that this might be a good time to put bike lanes on Milford Road.
Also, if you want to stay on top of issues like this, there is a new Friends of the Huron Valley Trail email list.
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Tags: Huron Valley Trail, Lyon Township, MDOT, Planning
October 9th, 2010 at 6:55 am
Is it possible to give an update about the status of trail planning (or lack thereof) in Green Oak Township? It would seem that two critical links, one connecting the Huron Valley Trail to the Lakelands Trail and one connecting the trail in Island Lake State Park to Lakelands Trail should be built, but there is no recent activity (at least documented online) to do so.
The was the only recent hint I could find online:
http://www.greenoaktwp.com/minutes/zba/02242010ZBSMM.pdf
October 10th, 2010 at 12:47 pm
Eric,
There is actually quite a bit of planning going on right now on how to make those connections. That planning is being led by the Michigan Trails and Greenways Alliance as part of the Michigan Air Line Trail.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_Air_Line_Trail
Those two trails will be part of a cross state trail system.
Connecting the Huron Valley Trail and Lakelands is critical but certainly not easy.
October 10th, 2010 at 3:52 pm
Is there anything online one can read about the planning effort? Are there any maps of possible routes yet? Is there a reason the railroad right-of-way cannot be used for the southern connection?
October 10th, 2010 at 7:31 pm
I don’t believe any of the route planning is on-line as of yet, including the maps. If and when more routing info becomes available, I’ll try posting it. There is more information on-line about the branding and marketing of the trail.
http://www.greenwaycollab.com/MTGA.htm
I don’t recall all the specifics of the southern rail route. As I recall, the rail corridor west of Dixboro Rd. was sold to private owners, not all of whom are interested in this trail. Another issue is getting safely across or under US23. There was a tunnel for the rail line, which is now filled. It could possibly be reopened, but again there are issues with landowners who are not inclined to support a trail at this time.
October 11th, 2010 at 6:15 am
Thanks Todd. Here’s my crude attempt to reconstruct the ROW using visible landmarks from Google maps.
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=100455236159669063732.000492554766d12a62d85&ll=42.447528,-83.736591&spn=0.085121,0.222988&t=h&z=13&lci=bike