I-275 Metro Trail

I-275 Metro Trail

Wintertime photograph of the snow-covered bike trail

I-275 Metro Trail in Canton, December 2008
Length 31.6 mi (50.9 km)
Location Wayne, and Oakland counties
Trailheads 2[1]
Use Hiking, biking

The I-275 Metro Trail is a bicycle trail in Wayne and Oakland counties in the US state of Michigan.

History

MDOT built a bike trail parallel to I-275 in the mid-1970s. This I-275 Bikeway was constructed as a reply to the 1970s energy crisis,[2] along a 31.6-mile (50.9 km) stretch in Monroe, Wayne and Oakland counties.[3] This path is 8 feet (2.4 m) wide and runs at least 30 feet (9 m) from the freeway, fenced off from adjacent landowners. It was not well-maintained originally, but it was being improved in the first decade of the 21st century.[4] There are 24 access points to the trail located at major cross roads along the route.[2] The trail is one of a network approved in June 1974,[5] and the state originally planned it to follow almost all 60 miles (97 km) of I-275 at the time, including the unbuilt segment north of Novi.[6]

Since 2006, the Michigan Trails & Greenway Alliance and MDOT have been working to improve the bike trail.[2] At the time of the alliance's initial studies, the trail was overgrown with vegetation in locations. The study focused on areas of needed improvement after meeting with members of the public in the communities surrounding the bike path.[4] In August 2009, MDOT held an open house to discuss construction work planned to improve the trail.[7] Further impacts by MDOT to the bikeway included closures in 2010 during reconstruction projects underway on the I-275 freeway.[8] Since a grand re-opening in 2011, the bike path has been called the I-275 Metro Trail.[9]In the middle of 2015, MDOT completed reconstruction of the bike trail,[3] resulting in a paved trail from a junction with the Downriver Linked Greenways East–West Trail near South Huron Road northward to 12 Mile Road in Novi.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Rockford Advertising (2016). "I-275 Metro Trail North" (PDF) (Map). Michigan Trails Magazine. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
    Rockford Advertising (2016). "I-275 Metro Trail South" (PDF) (Map). Michigan Trails Magazine. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Michigan Trails & Greenways Alliance. "I-275 Bikeway". Michigan Trails & Greenways Alliance. Archived from the original on November 10, 2010. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
  3. 1 2 Rockford Advertising. "I-275 Metro Trail North". Michigan Trails Magazine. Rockford Advertising. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  4. 1 2 Michigan Trails & Greenway Alliance (September 7, 2006). Reviving the I-275 Bikeway: The Potential for Community Enhancement (PDF) (Report). Michigan Trails & Greenway Alliance. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 18, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
  5. ↑ "Legislature Backs Bicycle Path Bill". The News-Palladium. Benton Harbor, MI. Associated Press. June 28, 1974. p. 21. OCLC 10117334. Retrieved October 19, 2014 – via NewspaperArchive.com. (subscription required (help)).
  6. ↑ "Bicycle Paths Are Okayed". Holland Evening Sentinel. United Press International. May 9, 1974. p. 13. OCLC 13440201. Retrieved October 15, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ Morosi, Rob (August 5, 2009). "MDOT To Hold I-275 Bike Path Construction Open House" (Press release). Michigan Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on December 19, 2009. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
  8. ↑ Taylor Transportation Service Center (February 11, 2010). "I-275 Corridor Improvements, Wayne County". Michigan Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on June 3, 2010. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
  9. ↑ Admin (September 15, 2011). "I-275 Grand Re-Opening". Friends of the I-275 Metro Trail. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2014.
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