A state grant to further expand the Red Arrow High Linear Trail has been accepted by Berrien County, meaning work to add another mile could start next year. Southwest Michigan Planning Commission senior planner Marcy Hamilton tells us the trail has been years in the making, and each year, it seems to grow a little.
“Between New Buffalo and Bridgman, every year the Berrien County Road Department has been improving sections of Red Arrow Highway, and while they’re doing that, they’re reducing the road from four lanes to three lanes, and that’s creating space to be available for a trail,” Hamilton said.
Eventually, the trail along Red Arrow Highway will connect New Buffalo and Bridgman, but with opportunities for further connections to the Kal-Haven Trail and the Marquette Greenway. Hamilton says when the trail passes through Bridgman, it will have to veer off Red Arrow Highway.
“There’s not a lot of room for a trail because of the road not being reduced, so we’re working with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to run the trail through Warren Dunes.”
That work is still years off. The Berrien County Board of Commissioners on Thursday accepted the terms of a $925,000 state TAP grant to expand the trail between US-12 and Community Hall Road in New Buffalo Township. Bids will go out in April and work could take place about this time next year.
