DOT plans to extend Hank Aaron State Trail in summer
The unfinished portion of the Hank Aaron State Trail, from S. 94th Pl. to the Underwood Creek Parkway, will be graded and covered with gravel for use by cyclists and pedestrians in the fall, according to information shared Tuesday by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
Last year, the state opened an extension of the Hank Aaron from Miller Park to S. 94th Pl., leaving the segment to the county line and the Oak Leaf Trail unfinished, pending the reconstruction of the Zoo Interchange.
With that work tentatively scheduled to begin in 2015, the DOT and the Department of Natural Resources worked out a plan to provide a gravel path to the Oak Leaf Trail connection, until the demolition work starts.
The cost will be about $200,000, according to the DOT. A federal grant through the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement program is expected to cover 80%, and money from the DNR budget will be used for the remainder.
The gravel project will begin after July 4, according to Emlynn Grisar, a spokeswoman for the DOT.
When finished, the extension will provide bicyclists a complete, ridable, off-street (mostly) pathway linking the Milwaukee Lakefront to Miller Park, State Fair Park, the Oak Leaf Trail, Greenfield Park, the New Berlin Recreation Trail and the Glacial Drumlin Trail to Cottage Grove.
That connection point in the Underwood Creek Parkway, immediately south of W. Blue Mound Rd., also would make the Hank Aaron Trail much more accessible for commuters looking to ride to jobs in Milwaukee from New Berlin, Greenfield and Wauwatosa.
The section in blue on the map below depicts the section to be packed with gravel this summer.
22 Comments for "DOT plans to extend Hank Aaron State Trail in summer"
As for some of the other posts/questions...the way it was explained to me is that the extension will be gravel until after the Zoo Int is done because at times heavy equipment will be using the path to access the construction sites and the weight of the machines would mess up the asphalt.
This, I am told, is also the reason the stretch along the river by s 35th st has not been paved...some sort of work needs to be done along the river bed.
Also a off road connection directly to canal st wouldnt work, at least not one that is south of the canal, due to the coal barges and other river traffic that would require a big ol' bridge to be built to clear.
I think the best would be a route up St Paul/Clybourn...either a seperate/elevated bike lane or bike paths under 794
ride no evo Mar 29, 2011 5:00 PM
interesting Mar 29, 2011 5:38 PM
commute to work. They take both my car and my bike off the roads,
which no one has issues with tax funding to build and maintain.
All you against this sort of development w/ tax payer funds, are you also
prepared to privately fund the roads you use to get to work?
gardenkim Mar 29, 2011 6:32 PM
Zoo: there is an underpath underneath I-94 that is right next to the trail
and can take you directly to the zoo's southern gates gates and parking lot.
blathmac Mar 29, 2011 10:50 PM
The tough on-street portion from the HD museum to the art museum is partly a matter of existing street structure and partly less cooperative private landowners. Landowners along the river going from HD west were much more open to helping.
Going east-west is still a nightmare in a car. It's fun and now easier on a bike.
Walktime Mar 30, 2011 7:14 AM
mikeinmke Mar 30, 2011 9:51 AM
WisRapids Aug 11, 2011 1:26 PM