Southern portion of rail trail expected to open ‘slightly later than originally estimated’

A view along the trail last fall near Hart.

GRANT TWP. — Work is scheduled to continue this week on Stage 1 (Montague to Rothbury) of the William Field Memorial Hart-Montague Trail. Signs will be installed, and the restoration will be planted along the length of the trail.

Michigan Department of Transportation officials are expecting to open Stage 1 of the trail near the end of this week, or at the start of next week Monday, Aug. 17 — “slightly later than originally estimated in my last update,” states MDOT Assistant Construction Engineer Leo A. Evans

“Work is also continuing at the trestle bridge over Dorrance Creek just north of M-20 between New Era and Shelby,” Evans states. “At this location, trail traffic is detoured onto Old US-31 (Oceana Drive) around the bridge work.  The bridge work is expected to be completed in approximately three to four weeks time.

“After Stage 1 is open, we are scheduled to proceed to Stage 3 of the project (Shelby to Hart) at which point Stage 3 will be closed for use, and Stage 1 will be reopened. Tentatively, we are planning for Stage 3 to be closed on Monday, Aug 17, but that may be adjusted based on the progress in wrapping up Stage 1.”