YPSILANTI, MI -- Crews will repave and expand a portion of a pedestrian-friendly pathway in Ypsilanti’s Frog Island Park.

The non-motorized Border-to-Border trail on Rice Street along the Huron River is being reconstructed this summer and widened to eight to 10 feet, an extension from its current four-foot-wide path, said Bonnie Wessler, project manager in the public services department. It was initially built at six to eight feet wide.

“Due to erosion and tree growth, it’s now down to about four (feet) wide and is pretty broken up due to tree roots,” Wessler said. “In order to get it to the appropriate width, we’re actually lowering the berm.”

Crews will also extend the Rice Street path to the sidewalk on Forest Avenue. The project will cost $450,000, city records show.

“We’re going to be moving a guardrail a bit, as well as relocating some signage," Wessler said.

Ypsilanti received a $20,000 grant for the project from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, as part of its Iron belle Trail Initiative for biking and hiking. Remaining costs will come from Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission, Wessler added.

Users can access the trail through an on-road pathway in the meantime. View the route here. The public can also access an unofficial Border-to-Border route nearby that cuts through Riverside Park.

Additionally, Ypsilanti will pave a new shared-segment path for pedestrians and cyclists along the west side of Grove Street, from the Water Street Trail to the old Ford plant north of I-94, to replace the existing sidewalk, according to Ypsilanti Mayor Beth Bashert’s bulletin.

Part of the restoration involves removing nine trees, which are marked with orange dots, before the end of March, the bulletin said. Trail construction is expected to begin in the summer. The city also aims extend it past the highway, Wessler added.

“We’re looking at 2021 or 2022 for that project, just due to the complexities of working with a highway bridge,” Wessler said.

Partners on the trail project include the Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative, the ​Huron-Clinton Metroparks, Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission, Washtenaw County Road Commission, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and the state Department of Natural Resources.

A half-mile stretch of the trail opened on Grove Street in October 2019. It runs outside Rawsonville Elementary School, 3110 S. Grove St., connecting to the school and giving students a path to walk or bike to school. Plans for this segment includes extending east to Rawsonville Road to connect the trail with a 6-mile path that will run north of Ford Lake and east through Lower Huron Metropark, according to the newsletter.

The full 70-mile regional trail is slated to be completed by 2022. View a larger map here.

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