B2B Trail project will connect the Chelsea-Dexter corridor to downtown Dexter and nearby Metroparks through shared-use pathways.
The latest Border-to-Border Trail connector in Dexter Township marks another step toward completing the trail segment between Chelsea and Dexter, leaving about one mile of pathway still to be finished along Dexter-Chelsea Road.
Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission (WCPRC) officials announced plans for construction of a nearly mile-long nonmotorized shared-use trail linking the Miller/Smith Preserve near Parker Road to the City of Dexter. Once completed, only the Dancer Road-to-Lima Center Road segment will remain unfinished between Chelsea and Dexter.
The new connection will provide users of the Chelsea-Dexter corridor direct access to downtown Dexter and three Huron-Clinton Metroparks — Hudson Mills, Dexter-Huron and Delhi Metropark — through the region’s growing network of shared-use pathways known as the Border-to-Border Trail, or B2B.
The project includes construction of a 10-foot-wide concrete pathway, two timber boardwalks, a pedestrian crossing on Dexter-Chelsea Road equipped with rapid-flashing beacons, and a 300-foot bridge over Mill Creek, incorporating the restored historic Bell Road Bridge. The trail also will connect to Dexter’s Mill Creek Pathway system.
Construction is expected to begin in mid-May 2026 and continue through late fall 2026.
The estimated cost of the project is approximately $3.5 million and will be funded through the Washtenaw County Parks trail millage, contributions from the Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative and the City of Dexter, along with private grants.
Featured photo: A conceptual rendering shows the restored historic Bell Road Bridge spanning Mill Creek as part of the planned Border-to-Border Trail connection into the city of Dexter. Courtesy of WCPRC
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