Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
HURLEY — Members of the Iron County Regional Trail Committee got some good news Thursday as they were informed the group’s Coastal Management Grant had cleared an initial hurdle and is one step closer to being funded.
In October, the county applied for a grant to fund research into the ownership of the former Soo Line rail grade that proponents want to use to expand the county’s trail system.
The grant application called for $25,000, with $25,000 in local matching funds.
Determining the ownership of the land running through the county and into Ashland County is the first step in acquiring the property, according to Will Andresen, with the Iron County University of Wisconsin Extension Office.
“We don’t know exactly who owns what,” Andresen said in October during the grant planning process, “so before we contact the railroad company ... we need to know (who owns the property) ... especially when it comes to the spurs (that shoot off the main rail grade.)”
While trail proponents are interested in acquiring the grade throughout the county, the immediate focus is the portion of the rail grade between the two branches of the Montreal River — which is why the project qualified for Coastal Management funds.
Non-motorized trail advocates hope to use a portion of the grade to make a non-motorized trail running from the Montreal River in Hurley to Cary Park, before continuing to Montreal, Wis.
The trail would also connect across the river to Michigan’s Gateway Trail, which will ultimately run between the Montreal River and Sunday Lake in Wakefield and is a segment of the Iron Belle Trail — a state project to have a trail between Ironwood and Belle Isle in Detroit.
County board chair Joe Pinardi said Thursday he received an email listing all the applicants and stating which applications were being recommended for funding.
While the project is far from being funded, Pinardi said Iron County’s application did clear the first hurdle.
He thought the next step is likely a discussion of how much money is available and how to prioritize the recommended projects.
Pinardi also informed the committee he is in talks with the Canadian National Railway Company, the owner of the portion of regional non-motorized trail between the Montreal River and U.S. 51. While Pinardi said there was no official agreement, the company appeared open to granting a three-year easement, which would allow the trail to be extended two blocks to U.S. 51.
The ultimate plan calls for the two blocks to serve as a trailhead for both the non-motorized trail, as well as the motorized trail that runs parallel to it.
