I-275 Metro Trail

The I-275 Metro Trail is a bicycle trail in Wayne and Oakland counties in the US state of Michigan.

I-275 Metro Trail
I-275 Metro Trail in Canton, December 2008
Length	31.6 mi (50.9 km)
Location	Wayne, and Oakland counties
Trailheads	2^[1]
Use	Hiking, biking

History

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) built a bike trail parallel to I-275 in the mid-1970s. This I-275 Bikeway was constructed as a reply to the 1970s energy crisis,^[2] along a 31.6-mile (50.9 km) stretch in Monroe, Wayne and Oakland counties.^[3] This path is 8 feet (2.4 m) wide and runs at least 30 feet (9 m) from the freeway, fenced off from adjacent landowners. It was not well-maintained originally, but it was being improved in the first decade of the 21st century.^[4] There are 24 access points to the trail located at major cross roads along the route.^[2] The trail is one of a network approved in June 1974,^[5] and the state originally planned it to follow almost all 60 miles (97 km) of I-275 at the time, including the unbuilt segment north of Novi.^[6]

Since 2006, the Michigan Trails & Greenway Alliance and MDOT have been working to improve the bike trail.^[2] At the time of the alliance's initial studies, the trail was overgrown with vegetation in locations. The study focused on areas of needed improvement after meeting with members of the public in the communities surrounding the bike path.^[4] In August 2009, MDOT held an open house to discuss construction work planned to improve the trail.^[7] Further impacts by MDOT to the bikeway included closures in 2010 during reconstruction projects underway on the I-275 freeway.^[8] Since a grand re-opening in 2011, the bike path has been called the I-275 Metro Trail.^[9] In the middle of 2015, MDOT completed reconstruction of the bike trail,^[3] resulting in a paved trail from a junction with the Downriver Linked Greenways East–West Trail near South Huron Road northward to 12 Mile Road in Novi.^[1]

See also

•   Transport portal
•   Michigan portal

References

1. Rockford Advertising (2016). "I-275 Metro Trail North" (PDF) (Map). Michigan Trails Magazine. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
   Rockford Advertising (2016). "I-275 Metro Trail South" (PDF) (Map). Michigan Trails Magazine. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
2. Michigan Trails & Greenways Alliance. . Michigan Trails & Greenways Alliance. Archived from the original on November 10, 2010. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
3. Rockford Advertising. . Michigan Trails Magazine. Rockford Advertising. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
4. Michigan Trails & Greenway Alliance (September 7, 2006). (PDF) (Report). Michigan Trails & Greenway Alliance. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 18, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
5. "Legislature Backs Bicycle Path Bill". The News-Palladium. Benton Harbor, MI. Associated Press. June 28, 1974. p. 21. OCLC 10117334. Retrieved July 13, 2018 – via Newspapers.com.  
6. "Bicycle Paths Are Okayed". Holland Evening Sentinel. United Press International. May 9, 1974. p. 13. OCLC 13440201. Retrieved October 15, 2014 – via Newspapers.com.  
7. Morosi, Rob (August 5, 2009). (Press release). Michigan Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on December 19, 2009. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
8. Taylor Transportation Service Center (February 11, 2010). . Michigan Department of Transportation. Archived from the original on June 3, 2010. Retrieved March 3, 2010.
9. Admin (September 15, 2011). . Friends of the I-275 Metro Trail. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. Retrieved June 21, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)