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“This is the type of situation where we will build it and hope they will come. The next challenge will be for people to actually use it.”

If the demand is there, the exclusive “bike and hike” lanes could be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but most likely will be adjusted based on use after the bridge opens — scheduled to occur sometime in 2022.

The new six-lane bridge will be located in the industrial corridor of Brighton Beach and Delray, but Lori Newton, executive director of Bike Windsor Essex, said Wednesday not to envision what the cycling route may look like today, but what it will be in the future.

“This is an unbelievable moment for us,” she said. “We started a campaign for this in 2012 and to see this come to fruition, we are so excited.

“This is a vision for the future — planning what will be and not what’s there now. We have a good five years to get ready for what this will look like. I’m confident that working together with folks in Detroit we will have both ends looking beautiful to access each downtown.”

Todd Scott, executive director of the Detroit Greenways Coalition, said they will quickly get to work to ensure the right connections are in place so cyclists could easily reach downtown Detroit and other destinations.

A proposed bike lane is already planned for Fort Street which will connect the Howe bridge plaza and provide an easy ride to Mexicantown, Corktown or downtown Detroit.

“This is a huge deal for us,” Scott said. “Getting ready for this won’t be difficult at all. We are already working on much more difficult projects that separate bike lanes from major state highways.”