PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP -- Plainfield Township officials say they have no choice but to use a section of the Fred Meijer Pine Trail this summer to get to and repair an aging sanitary sewer line running under the Rogue River.

The project will force the periodic closure of roughly 3,000 feet of the Fred Meijer White Pine Trail from House Street to Rio Rogue Street near the city of Rockford this summer so that heavy equipment and materials can be hauled down the trail to two of the six river crossing work sites.

That's bad news for Carly Eckley, of Grand Rapids, who rides the trail from near Grand Rapids to Rockford and back with her family several times a week. "There are lots of people who use the trail for recreation and rehabilitation every day; what are they supposed to do if the trail is closed?"

During construction of the crossings, the Rogue River will also be closed at times to canoers and kayakers as crews dig trenches across the river to install new "inverted siphons," U-shaped sewer pipes that use gravity and siphoning action to push the sewage under the river.

The river closings started on June 27, as crews began working in the river to replace the inverted siphon under the Rogue River near Jericho Avenue.

River closed signs will be installed upstream from the construction sites.

"The township understands the asset the trail is to the people of West Michigan," said Township Superintendent Cameron VanWyngarden. "If there was any other way to do this project, we would; but there isn't."

VanWyngarden said the portion of the trail will most likely have to be replaced after the project is completed. The cost to restore the project is already factored into the cost of the entire project, he said.

Some residents have suggested the construction crews could use the private Rio Rogue Street as the path for construction crews, but VanWyngarden said while the township does have an agreement with the owners to use the road, the agreement limits that types of vehicles to pickup-size trucks and smaller.

He said the larger construction equipment would destroy the road, forcing the township to have to rebuild the road and add more costs to the project than repaving the trail adds.

"We have to think of the White Pine Trail as just another road in the township and almost all roads have to be closed from time-to-time for construction and this is just one of those times," he said.

Township and construction officials have been working with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to make sure that construction in the river has minimal impact, which is considered one of the best trout streams in the state.

The trail closures are expected to affect up to 25,000 users and countless recreational paddlers on the Rogue River, according to trail manager David Heyboer, with the Friends of the White Pine Trail. "We understand and support the township's need to replace the sewer line that goes under the Rogue River but this is the worst place to have the trail closed over the entire length of the 92-mile-long trail as there is no place to detour trail traffic," Heyboer said.

VanWyngarden said unlike other construction projects, the timeline on this project is variable because the work in the river has to be done when the water levels are at their lowest. If the area gets heavy rains, construction will have to be delayed until the water level goes down. That is why specific dates for closings cannot be given, he said.

"We hope to do most of the work during the week so that the river and the trail can be reopened for the weekends," he said.

Replacing the inverted siphons is just the latest phase of the project that will eventually replace the entire sanitary sewer line that follows the original railroad right-of-way through the township.

The entire sewer line replacement project will cost $3.02 million.