By Lisa Carolin
Local residents had a chance to get updates on the western segment of the Border-to-Border Trail and share their comments with county employees and more Sept. 19 at an open house at the Washington Street Educational Center.
The segment of the trail from Freer Road to Lima Center Road was the main topic addressed. Residents had the opportunity to study maps showing the construction and to talk one on one with project engineers. That segment of the trail will be built on the south side of the railroad tracks.
“Construction on the segment from Freer Road to Lima Center Road will most likely start in November and be completed next July,” said Roy Townsend, project engineer, at the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission.
The construction of the trail will also include paving as well as railroad driveway safety improvements.
The trail along Dexter-Chelsea Road is being planned in three segments: Freer Road to the railroad crossing; the railroad crossing to Wylie Road; Wylie Road to Parker Road.
Townsend also updated construction dates for the 2.6-mile trail segment that begins just north of the roundabout at the intersection of Werkner Road and M-52, north of Chelsea, which runs parallel to M-52, stopping at Green Lake Campground in the Waterloo Recreation Area. He said construction should be completed in the next few months.
All segments of the Border-to-Border trail will be paved 10-feet wide.
The Washtenaw County Border-to-Border Trail system was conceived by the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission as a non-motorized trail that will connect Ann Arbor, Dexter, Chelsea, and Stockbridge. It will run from Ypsilanti, roughly following the Huron River through the county, to the northwest corner near Lyndon Township.
