The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced a $17.8 million grant for the Marquette Greenway project. The Marquette Greenway is a trail that is planned between Chicago and New Buffalo. Southwest Michigan Planning Commission Senior Planner Marcy Hamilton tells WSJM News they hope it will be done within five years.
“The whole trail will be about 68 miles, and just over 30 miles have been built or are already funded and will be built soon,” Hamilton said. “So, there’s a gap of about 26, 28 miles.”
Hamilton says the $17.8 million grant could complete the work or enable planners to secure more grant funding so it can be completed. She says trails are an asset to a community that’s looking to grow.
“With the workforce now, a lot of folks can work from anywhere, and so they’re able to choose where they want to live, and people are choosing places where they have amenities like trails.”
Hamilton says the Marquette Greenway could eventually connect to the Red Arrow Linear Trail that’s being worked on between New Buffalo and Bridgman. So, conceivably, a person could walk a trail all the way from Bridgman to Chicago one day.
