Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
A CREW from Ross Peterson Construction works on a section of non-motorized trail Tuesday in Hurley between U.S. 51 and the Montreal River where the trail crosses into Michigan and becomes the Michigan Western Gateway Trail, also known as the Iron Belle Trail.
By RICHARD JENKINS
Hurley - In an effort to complete the project before the cold weather sets in, work has begun on extending the paved portion of the regional non-motorized trail from the Montreal River to U.S. 51.
The paved section will extend the trail, planned to run between Sunday Lake in Wakefield and the ski trails in Montreal Wis., into Hurley and give access to the trail via the city's streets.
Ultimately, the regional trail is planned to connect to the other trails in Wisconsin and Michigan - including the Iron Belle Trail, running from Detroit to Ironwood - allowing Gogebic Range residents to explore large parts of both states.
The two-block section of trail will be paved using the remaining funds from the "Bridge the Gap" fundraising campaign, according to Hurley Mayor Joe Pinardi, which were transferred by the Ironwood City Commission to Hurley on Sept. 14.
The successful campaign began after bids for construction of the first two sections of the regional trail came in higher than expected. The high bids meant that improvements to the railroad trestle connecting Hurley and Ironwood needed to be removed from the project's budget unless additional funding could be raised. While the campaign had a stated goal of $50,000, donations totaled around $60,000. It's the remaining $10,000 that will go to extend the paved portion of the trail to the highway and create space for a trailhead in Hurley, Pinardi said.
While the property is actually owned by the Canadian National Railway Company, Pinardi told the Daily Globe the city was in the process of obtaining an easement for the land. He declined to comment further, other than to say he didn't expect opposition from the rail company and the city was moving forward with the paving.
Once the paving of the area between the river and U.S 51 is complete, the completion of the trailhead will be able to continue with the installation of benches, tables and bike racks and signs that have been constructed by the Hurley School District's Northwoods Manufacturing and already purchased by the University of Wisconsin Iron County Extension Office using other grant funding, according to Pinardi.
Will Andresen, with the extension office, said the trailhead will most likely ultimately include a parking lot as well as picnic area with benches and tables, but paving the trail to the sidewalk was the priority for this fall.
