RAIL-TRAIL LINK NEARER TO REALITY
Berry Junction Trail would connect Muskegon bike paths to State trail.
A proposed multi-use trail from Muskegon to Whitehall could connect Muskegon’s network of bike paths with the state’s Hart-Montague Trail as soon as 2006.
The proposed 10-mile-long Berry Junction Trail also would bring the Hart-Montague and Musketawa trails within a few miles of linking up.
Completing a trail between Muskegon and Whitehall would give the area’s tourist industry a big boost, said Berry Junction Rail Trail Committee Chairman Scott Hladki.
The trail could turn a trip to Michigan’s Adventure Amusement Park from Muskegon or Whitehall into a family bike outing, said Hladki, who is Dalton Township supervisor.
The trail could help local businesses as well. Hladki notes that hungry, tired bikers need to stop for refreshments.
Hladki said the committee is in the process of applying for a number of state grants to fund half of the estimated $2.3-million price tag to build the trail. The committee would have to come up with the other half.
Committee member Roland Crummel said the West Michigan Strategic Alliance has made funding the rail trail a top priority.
The alliance is a group of business and community leaders working to coordinate development goals in the Grand Rapids, Muskegon and Holland area.
Crummel, the Laketon Township supervisor, said a best-case scenario would see the trail completed by 2006. Crummel also is a member of the alliance board.
In November, six West Michigan community foundations announced a $200,000 challenge grant to encourage extending the Musketawa Trail from Marne to Grand Rapids.
Those same community foundations, as well as private sources and economic development organizations, are all possible donors of matching funds for the Berry Junction Trail, said North Muskegon City Council member Tom Anderson.
Anderson owns a local bike shop. He helped persuade the city to build a temporary gravel path linking Muskegon’s Lakeshore Trail and Lake Street in North Muskegon.
The proposed trail would connect with existing trails near the White Lake Community Library in Whitehall and in North Muskegon near the intersection of M-120 and Whitehall Road.
The trail would follow an abandoned railroad right of way from Whitehall to a point about a quarter-mile north of River Road in Muskegon Township.
The trail takes its name from the spot north of River Road where CSX Transportation’s still-active railroad line into Fremont diverges from the abandoned right of way.
The approximately 6-mile-long section of trail between Berry Junction and Whitehall is ready to be paved, Hladki said.
South of Berry Junction, the trail would follow alongside CSX’s tracks. Once it crosses Giles Road, the trail would follow along the banks of Bear Creek to the intersection of Whitehall and Dykstra roads.
The committee has yet to determine the trail’s route from the corner of Dykstra and Whitehall through North Muskegon.
Option A would follow Whitehall Road and connect with the Muskegon trail near the M-120 intersection.
Option B would connect with the Muskegon trail via the Four Corners.
Anderson said the Four Corners intersection of Ruddiman Avenue and Center Street is a poor choice.
“The Four Corners is a nightmare for traffic,” Anderson said. “It’s one of our more
accident-prone corners already. Adding bikes would make it worse.”
The state, county, six townships and most private landowners along the proposed 10-mile route already have given permission to build the path, Hladki said.
The committee recently approved a master plan for the project. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources also has granted the committee a use permit for the 6-mile section of abandoned railroad right of way through Fruitland and Dalton townships. The railbed will remain under state ownership.
Hladki said the committee still needs a signed agreement with Bayer Crop Science to cross its property on Whitehall Road.
-Dave LeMieux Muskegon Chronicle Staff Writer-
Berry Junction Trail would connect Muskegon bike paths to State trail.
A proposed multi-use trail from Muskegon to Whitehall could connect Muskegon’s network of bike paths with the state’s Hart-Montague Trail as soon as 2006.
The proposed 10-mile-long Berry Junction Trail also would bring the Hart-Montague and Musketawa trails within a few miles of linking up.
Completing a trail between Muskegon and Whitehall would give the area’s tourist industry a big boost, said Berry Junction Rail Trail Committee Chairman Scott Hladki.
The trail could turn a trip to Michigan’s Adventure Amusement Park from Muskegon or Whitehall into a family bike outing, said Hladki, who is Dalton Township supervisor.
The trail could help local businesses as well. Hladki notes that hungry, tired bikers need to stop for refreshments.
Hladki said the committee is in the process of applying for a number of state grants to fund half of the estimated $2.3-million price tag to build the trail. The committee would have to come up with the other half.
Committee member Roland Crummel said the West Michigan Strategic Alliance has made funding the rail trail a top priority.
The alliance is a group of business and community leaders working to coordinate development goals in the Grand Rapids, Muskegon and Holland area.
Crummel, the Laketon Township supervisor, said a best-case scenario would see the trail completed by 2006. Crummel also is a member of the alliance board.
In November, six West Michigan community foundations announced a $200,000 challenge grant to encourage extending the Musketawa Trail from Marne to Grand Rapids.
Those same community foundations, as well as private sources and economic development organizations, are all possible donors of matching funds for the Berry Junction Trail, said North Muskegon City Council member Tom Anderson.
Anderson owns a local bike shop. He helped persuade the city to build a temporary gravel path linking Muskegon’s Lakeshore Trail and Lake Street in North Muskegon.
The proposed trail would connect with existing trails near the White Lake Community Library in Whitehall and in North Muskegon near the intersection of M-120 and Whitehall Road.
The trail would follow an abandoned railroad right of way from Whitehall to a point about a quarter-mile north of River Road in Muskegon Township.
The trail takes its name from the spot north of River Road where CSX Transportation’s still-active railroad line into Fremont diverges from the abandoned right of way.
The approximately 6-mile-long section of trail between Berry Junction and Whitehall is ready to be paved, Hladki said.
South of Berry Junction, the trail would follow alongside CSX’s tracks. Once it crosses Giles Road, the trail would follow along the banks of Bear Creek to the intersection of Whitehall and Dykstra roads.
The committee has yet to determine the trail’s route from the corner of Dykstra and Whitehall through North Muskegon.
Option A would follow Whitehall Road and connect with the Muskegon trail near the M-120 intersection.
Option B would connect with the Muskegon trail via the Four Corners.
Anderson said the Four Corners intersection of Ruddiman Avenue and Center Street is a poor choice.
“The Four Corners is a nightmare for traffic,” Anderson said. “It’s one of our more
accident-prone corners already. Adding bikes would make it worse.”
The state, county, six townships and most private landowners along the proposed 10-mile route already have given permission to build the path, Hladki said.
The committee recently approved a master plan for the project. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources also has granted the committee a use permit for the 6-mile section of abandoned railroad right of way through Fruitland and Dalton townships. The railbed will remain under state ownership.
Hladki said the committee still needs a signed agreement with Bayer Crop Science to cross its property on Whitehall Road.
-Dave LeMieux Muskegon Chronicle Staff Writer-
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