Border-to-Border Trail Construction Updates

Spring has sprung (but did we really ever have winter?), and the trails are already back in use.

Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative (HWPI) recently sent out its spring newsletter describing yet another ambitious year of trailblazing with the Border-to-Border Trail (B2B).

But it’s not all trail construction this year as HWPI Executive Director Kiff Hamp explains, “In addition to trail building, we are also set to open our first major “trail adjacent” project in June - The Title IX Plaza along the Dexter-Huron Metropark section of the B2B Trail. This nationally-unique plaza will honor Washtenaw County-based women who were instrumental in passing Title IX legislation in 1972, and who have since helped to significantly advance women’s sports.”

Dexter-Huron Metropark is near Dexter on Huron River Drive. The Dexter-Ann Arbor segment of the B2B runs through the park, albeit not entirely constructed. The trail, however, does connect Dexter-Huron and Hudson Mills Metroparks.

In the newsletter, HWPI lists the B2B trail construction updates in our area:

Chelsea-Stockbridge Corridor

Construction began in 2023, continuing the B2B north next to M-52 from North Territorial, which is 1.6 miles to Boyce Road. As of March 2024, a new 108ft concrete boardwalk is in progress. The project is expected to be completed later this spring. This is a new technology for the trail. It costs less and lasts three times longer than a traditional wooden boardwalk. Once completed, the corridor will offer 7.9 miles of continuous trail.

Bridge delivery at the Huron River – Zeeb to Delhi Metropark trail segment

Dexter-Chelsea Corridor

The remaining 0.7 miles from Wylie Road past Parker Road is in progress as of March 2024. This active project will be completed later this spring by installing a short bridge to cross a small creek west of the Miller-Smith Preserve. Construction of 1,000 feet of trail will occur in the early summer of 2024 to connect Dancer Road to Miller Smith Preserve.

Looking ahead in 2024, the much-anticipated use of the historic Bell Road Bridge to cross Mill Creek near Forest Lawn Cemetery will connect the trail to the City of Dexter. Construction is planned to begin later in 2024 and be completed later in 2025.

HWPI cautions trail users, “As we work toward making the final connections between Dexter and Chelsea, parking will be challenging along this segment. Once the corridor is complete, there will be parking and safe public access. Until then, if you do park in this area, please do not use Beacon Hill Drive as it is a private road.”

Dexter-Ann Arbor Corridor

Paving of the Zeeb Road to East Delhi Road segment will resume this spring, with bridge installation this summer. The 1.3 segment will provide 4.6 miles of trail from Dexter east toward Ann Arbor when completed. It will include the fourth B2B bridge over the Huron River and connect all three Metroparks in Washtenaw County.

Planning has begun for a 1.0-mile segment from Delhi Metropark to Wagner Road along Huron River Drive, with a projected timeline starting in 2024/2025.

Hudson Mills Corridor

Still in the planning stage, this section would take the B2B from Hudson Mills Metropark to Pinckney, connecting to the Lakelands Trail.

For more information

Less than nine miles of B2B are left to create and complete the vision of a non-motorized trail from one end of Washtenaw County to the other. For more information and updates, visit https://b2btrail.org/

Photos from https://b2btrail.org/