Schmaltz seeks grant to help complete final segments of local trail system

State Rep. Kathy Schmaltz is advocating for state grant funding in the upcoming budget to help complete key portions of the Border to Border Trail through the Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative, expanding recreational opportunities and regional connectivity for residents in Washtenaw and Jackson counties and beyond.

Schmaltz recently testified before a House budget subcommittee in support of a $3.5 million grant request for the initiative. The funding would help complete the final and most technically challenging portions of the countywide trail system, which is designed to connect communities, parks, and natural areas across the region and into neighboring counties.

“The Border-to-Border Trail is an investment in our communities and quality of life,” Schmaltz said. “These trails give families safe places to walk and bike, create new opportunities for outdoor recreation, and help connect people to local parks, businesses, and neighboring communities across southern Michigan.”

Once complete, the Border-to-Border Trail will stretch roughly 55 miles across Washtenaw County, with nearly 45 miles already completed. The remaining gaps are spread across several locations, including a challenging stretch along the Huron River between Dexter and Ann Arbor, a gap between Chelsea and Dexter, and a final western connection extending toward the Jackson County border near M-52.

The remaining segments include some of the most difficult and expensive portions of the entire project. Completing the final segments will require major infrastructure work, including multiple bridges, thousands of feet of boardwalk, a rail crossing, and other complex engineering improvements because of the terrain and proximity to the river and rail lines.

Schmaltz invited Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative Executive Director Kiff Hamp to testify alongside her before the committee.

“We built over 25 miles since we started in 2017, and 43 miles total are completed now,” Hamp said. “But now we’re at a point where the last few miles are the really tricky stuff. We’re raising private dollars and foundation dollars, but state funding certainly would help us make that become reality.”

Schmaltz noted the project already has strong local and private backing, including more than $25 million in private funding raised since 2017, along with support from county millages and communities such as Chelsea, Dexter, Ann Arbor, and Ypsilanti.

“This project already has tremendous local and private support because people understand how valuable these trail connections are for residents and visitors. The final segments are simply too complex and expensive for local communities to finish alone, which is why state partnership is so important.”

Schmaltz successfully advocated for $1 million in state funding for the trail project last year. Construction recently broke ground on a new segment near Dexter that will connect the trail into downtown Dexter.