With grant support, Marysville commits to building three more sections of bike trail
Goal: Close gap in county's trail system
The Marysville City Council recently passed a resolution in support of a second grant application to the Michigan Department of Transportation to complete key sections of the countywide bike trail in the city.
In the resolution, adopted Feb. 22, the city council "pledged to fund the engineering cost, grant match, and any non-participating cost for the project; and ... to owning the constructed facility and funding and implementing a maintenance plan in perpetuity."
In 2019, the St. Clair County Trails Program pinpointed three gaps in the Marysville section of the proposed 54-mile Bridge to Bay Trail, designed to connect Lake Huron to Lake St. Clair, about half of which has been constructed.
If the proposed sections of trail are built, the trail would be continuous through Marysville, linking to Port Huron's trail to the north to St. Clair Township's trail to the south.
"Almost a year ago, on Feb. 24, this body approved the grant application to the Michigan Department of Transportation for what then was about $2.1 million — now it's up to about $2.4 million" — to close various gaps in the county's bicycle trail system, said Randy Fernandez, city manager, as heard on the recording of the meeting posted on the city's website.
The application formally went to MDOT's Transportation Alternatives Program.
"As you know, we did not get initial funding, although St. Clair did, to close its gap, and Port Huron did, as well," said Fernandez.
MDOT asked that the city resubmit the application through Southeast Michigan Council of Governments.
"So both of those organizations are reviewing our $2.4 million grant application," said Fernandez.
Fernandez received a call from MDOT prior to the council meeting that the department could not find the council's resolution in support of the grant application.
"That's the reason for 'housekeeping' resolution tonight," Fernandez said.
Currently, a section of bike trail follows the old Detroit United Rail bed from the intersection of M-29 and River Road south along the west edge of Marysville Park into the heart of the park. The new section of trail would turn east from that point and run to River Road, travel south along the west side of River Road past Huron Boulevard to the wastewater treatment plant, then cross River Road to Chrysler Beach.
The second section of new trail would run from just south of Marysville Golf Course along the west side of River Road all the way to Davis Road.
At Davis Road, the trail would turn west and run along the north side of Davis Road to M-29, connecting to the existing bike trail on the west side of M-29.
The River Road trail will be one of the few sections of the overall Bridge to Bay Trail to offer pedestrians and bicyclists views of the St. Clair River.
Davis Road will cost around $500,000, Fernandez said. The River Road section will cost about $1.1 million.
"Through the community foundation, we've been awarded nearly $700,000 as our piece of the matching grant, if and when we receive the grant, which we should know about next month," Fernandez said.
The total length of the three sections is 1.66 miles.
Project Control Engineering, the Algonac firm that engineered the three sections of trail, specified an asphalt surface 10 feet wide.
"We're hoping for good results," said Fernandez.
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