Hamilton Reef
11-19-2004, 05:11 PM
Grant helps extend area bike trails
By STEVE BROWNLEE, Journal Staff Writer, November 19, 2004
MARQUETTE - A grant awarded Tuesday is helping to make Marquette County part of what is becoming an Upper Peninsula-long network of bicycle trails along state highways.
The grant awarded by the state will widen both shoulders along state highway M-35 from the Marquette-Delta county line north into Gwinn, up to the bridge that crosses the middle branch of the Escanaba River in the downtown area.
This will connect other sections of highway already widened, creating a corridor that begins at the Mackinac Bridge in St. Ignace and heading west and north all the way to Ishpeming Township, according to a Michigan Department of Transportation spokesman.
"This makes sure our right-of-ways are safely available to touring bicyclists," said Andy Sikkema, managing engineer with the MDOT office in Ishpeming. "This will provide the only fulled paved shoulders from bicyclists between Lake Superior and Lake Michigan in the central U.P."
He also mentioned that national and regional magazines that promote bicycling have been contacted to get the word out that a continuous paved strip is to become available for this stretch of about 200 miles.
The shoulders will be widened from 3 feet to 8 feet along a 16.3-mile stretch of M-35, connecting up with shoulders already widened on that highway in Delta County, Sikkema said. He hopes the project will start early enough in 2005 to complete it in one construction season.
The grant is for $397,600, with $318,080 coming from federal funds and the remaining $79,520 from MDOT.
"This comes at no cost to local communities," Sikkema said. "But area people, including Forsyth Township, did a lot of the legwork in obtaining this grant.
"They got together testimonial letters from members of the public and studied what the expected use of the trail would be."
Heading south and east, the bicycle lanes connect up to U.S. Highway 2-41 in Gladstone, which have already been widened all the way along the Lake Michigan shoreline to the Mackinac Bridge.
Going north from Gwinn, state highway M-553 also has the wider shoulders up to Marquette. There, lanes connect to U.S. 41/M-28 and go west until the four-lane highway narrows to two lanes in Ishpeming Township near Westwood High School.
"This is great news, joining the two legs of road we already have," said Domenic Ori of Marquette, who has been an adviser to the Superior Bike Fest which has grown into a large summer event the past few years.
Ori, 70, says he has been a cycling enthusiast since 1949 and still puts in plenty of miles each year. He has been a year-round resident in this area for the past two years after spending time here during each of the previous 15 years.
"This is a great area for bicycling," he said. "Where I lived in Illinois, you were taking your life in your own hands anytime you went on the highway."
He said that was partly because of the narrow shoulders that forced riders onto the edge of motor vehicle lanes, partly because of heavy traffic and partly because of the aggressive nature of drivers in urban areas.
The M-35 shoulder-widening grant is part of two programs, the Transportation Enhancement and Transportation Economic Development Fund programs, that are providing more than $12 million around the state to improve Michigan's road system, according to a press release from Gov. Jennifer Granholm's office.
By STEVE BROWNLEE, Journal Staff Writer, November 19, 2004
MARQUETTE - A grant awarded Tuesday is helping to make Marquette County part of what is becoming an Upper Peninsula-long network of bicycle trails along state highways.
The grant awarded by the state will widen both shoulders along state highway M-35 from the Marquette-Delta county line north into Gwinn, up to the bridge that crosses the middle branch of the Escanaba River in the downtown area.
This will connect other sections of highway already widened, creating a corridor that begins at the Mackinac Bridge in St. Ignace and heading west and north all the way to Ishpeming Township, according to a Michigan Department of Transportation spokesman.
"This makes sure our right-of-ways are safely available to touring bicyclists," said Andy Sikkema, managing engineer with the MDOT office in Ishpeming. "This will provide the only fulled paved shoulders from bicyclists between Lake Superior and Lake Michigan in the central U.P."
He also mentioned that national and regional magazines that promote bicycling have been contacted to get the word out that a continuous paved strip is to become available for this stretch of about 200 miles.
The shoulders will be widened from 3 feet to 8 feet along a 16.3-mile stretch of M-35, connecting up with shoulders already widened on that highway in Delta County, Sikkema said. He hopes the project will start early enough in 2005 to complete it in one construction season.
The grant is for $397,600, with $318,080 coming from federal funds and the remaining $79,520 from MDOT.
"This comes at no cost to local communities," Sikkema said. "But area people, including Forsyth Township, did a lot of the legwork in obtaining this grant.
"They got together testimonial letters from members of the public and studied what the expected use of the trail would be."
Heading south and east, the bicycle lanes connect up to U.S. Highway 2-41 in Gladstone, which have already been widened all the way along the Lake Michigan shoreline to the Mackinac Bridge.
Going north from Gwinn, state highway M-553 also has the wider shoulders up to Marquette. There, lanes connect to U.S. 41/M-28 and go west until the four-lane highway narrows to two lanes in Ishpeming Township near Westwood High School.
"This is great news, joining the two legs of road we already have," said Domenic Ori of Marquette, who has been an adviser to the Superior Bike Fest which has grown into a large summer event the past few years.
Ori, 70, says he has been a cycling enthusiast since 1949 and still puts in plenty of miles each year. He has been a year-round resident in this area for the past two years after spending time here during each of the previous 15 years.
"This is a great area for bicycling," he said. "Where I lived in Illinois, you were taking your life in your own hands anytime you went on the highway."
He said that was partly because of the narrow shoulders that forced riders onto the edge of motor vehicle lanes, partly because of heavy traffic and partly because of the aggressive nature of drivers in urban areas.
The M-35 shoulder-widening grant is part of two programs, the Transportation Enhancement and Transportation Economic Development Fund programs, that are providing more than $12 million around the state to improve Michigan's road system, according to a press release from Gov. Jennifer Granholm's office.