It is likely the portion of trail where the resurfacing work is happening will be closed during construction. Sell says she doesn’t yet have a confirmed timeline for the work. In addition, three complete bridge replacements will be done in the same, western, section that is being resurfaced. Some asphalt paving work in the western stretch will occur in the areas currently paved - the South Haven trailhead area and at the village of Bloomingdale. The newly awarded federal grant will be used to put down new limestone from South Haven to the village of Bloomingdale, says Jill Sell, Southwest Michigan trail specialist for DNR. The trail is a popular tourist destination in southwest Michigan, passing over a glacial moraine, through towns and small villages, and open farmland before reaching Lake Michigan. The trail is used for hiking, biking (class 1 e-bikes are permitted), and snowmobiles no equestrian or off-road-vehicle use is permitted. Thousands of people use the trail each year. The Kal-Haven runs along the old Penn Central Railroad bed between Kalamazoo and South Haven. The conversion of unused rail corridors to recreational trails was a relatively new concept when the Kal-Haven Trail came into existence. Half of the Kal-Haven Trail will be resurfaced in limestone and three bridges completely replaced, thanks to federal funding. This is the first time the west end of the trail has been resurfaced since the trail was created in 1989. Users and friends of the Kal-Haven Trail State Park have been pressing for its maintenance for years. That figure did not include a backlog of trails maintenance costs identified in the 2022-2032 Michigan DNR Trails Plan.Ī team reviewed the list of priority projects eligible for ARPA funds, prioritizing infrastructure projects across the state, as well as elevating projects that could be completed quickly. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources already had a list of existing critical repairs within state parks – at one time totaling about $264 million. The remaining is generated through user fees and royalty revenues.Īlthough timelines for the projects have not yet been developed, federal funding requirements mandate that these funds be spent by Dec. Michigan’s general fund provides just 3 percent of state park funding. The funding is a welcome gift for Michigan's increasingly popular state parks. The funding is part of the federal relief program, the American Rescue Plan, signed into law by President Biden in March 2021. The Building Michigan Together Plan provides $4.8 billion in federal funding to invest in roads, water, high-speed internet, and the single largest investment - state and local parks. For a complete list of projects, go to Building Michigan Together Plan – State Parks Progress. The projects cover a wide range of infrastructure projects at state parks on both peninsulas, everything from road and sewer repairs to building restoration and improvements.Īcross the state, the projects range from $1 million to modernize the visitor center parking lot and other improvements at Fayette State Park to $8 million to pave the remaining 29 miles of the 62-mile-long Fred Meijer White Pine Trail State Park, another linear park. These two projects in Southwest Michigan are among more than 150 statewide earmarked for federal dollars through the Building Michigan Together Plan, signed by Gov. The Kal-Haven Trail has been awarded $5 million in federal funds for the long-overdue resurfacing of 17 miles of the trail’s 33.5-mile length.Īnd just a few miles south of the Kal-Haven’s far west trailhead, on Lake Michigan, Van Buren State Park is slated for a $1.1 million federal allocation to repair the walkway to the beach and the park’s sewage lagoon. That’s about to change, thanks to federal funds earmarked for Michigan’s state parks. The trail runs 33.5 miles from Kalamazoo to South Haven. That’s one of a host of maintenance and other issues along the popular trail, the first state park of its kind in Michigan. The western half of the Kal-Haven Trail Sesquicentennial State Park has not been resurfaced since the trail’s creation more than three decades ago.
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