Badger State Trail to open in 2006
Path will lead from Madison to the Illinois state line
by Mike Ivey 
| Click the map above to open an enlarged view. Map courtesy of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. |
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Air up the tires, connect the baby trailers and sharpen the roller ski poles. After years of intense planning and contentious debate, plans are finally falling into place for the 2006 opening of the Badger State Trail.
Running from the state capital of Madison south to the Illinois border, the 40-mile route could well become the most popular of Wisconsin's 32 rails-to-trails conversions. It will skirt farm fields and visit small towns and wind amid the scenic hills and valleys that remain largely untouched by the urban sprawl that has gobbled much of the state's rural countryside. Work has picked up in recent months, with repairs to a key
quarter-mile tunnel south of Belleville moving forward. To date, $600,000 has been spent on the estimated $4.4 million project. Parks planners are anticipating nearly 200,000 people will use the trail annually, with many of those coming from the bike-crazed city of Madison, named one of the nation's Top 10 cities for biking by Bicycling magazine. Passing through the fast-growing suburb of Fitchburg, the trail is also expected to
provide a convenient commuting route for those pedaling to work or school. State officials think the trail will make a significant economic impact on the region. The four-season, multi-use recreational system is expected to bring $2 million in tourism spending each year to southern Wisconsin. "It's a watershed event for the entire area," said Tryg Knuston, an aide to state Sen. Jon Erpenbach, a
Democrat from Madison who has been pushing to have the trail completed. Department of Natural Resources parks planner Jeff Prey has even bigger ideas. He envisions the trail as a key link in connecting the Sugar River, Military Ridge, Capital City and Ice Age trails with the state parks in southern Wisconsin. Eventually, Prey sees the area becoming a destination spot for visitors from across the region and beyond.
"I have friends who've done loops like this in Europe, going from town to town, inn to inn," he said. "There is that same sort of potential here."
Planning for the trail hasn't come off without a hitch. The DNR has faced pressure from a variety of user groups all seeking access to the corridor, which will be asphalt paved for eight miles on its north end into Madison. The remaining 32 miles will be covered with a crushed limestone, like most of the other rail-trails
in Wisconsin.
ATV & horse riders seek trail
The trail is proposed to be off-limits to motorized use during the summer months. Snowmobiles will be allowed on the limestone sections of the trail in winter.
All-terrain vehicle riders have been pushing for greater access to public trails throughout Wisconsin and turned out in large numbers during a series of public hearings on the Badger State Trail. ATVs are allowed
on the Cheese Country Trail, which runs east to west across the southern part of the state. That trail has become so popular with the motorized crowd, in fact, that it no longer enjoys a lot of bicycle use.
In an effort to please as many user groups as possible, the DNR is preparing to allow ATVs on an 11-mile stretch between Monroe and Monticello from December 1 to March 15 on a three-year trial basis.
Rob McConnell, vice president of the Wisconsin ATV Association, said his group has been frustrated with the lack of places to ride the four-wheeled vehicles. He said some 270,000 ATVs are now registered in the state, almost roughly the same number as snowmobiles.
"It's growing but there just aren't enough places to ride," he said. "They tell us we can't go on private land, we can't go on public land. So where are you supposed to go?"
Jim Winkelman, an ATV rider from Verona, said he is willing to share access to the trail with others. "Bike riders are selfish," he said. "We don't mind sharing with them but they don't want to share with us."
The question of conflicting trail use has become a big issue in Wisconsin. ATVs have generally been off limits on the state's bike trails in the southern part of the state, although they are allowed on some of the county-managed trails in the north.
"There are a lot of families who would like to be able to take their kids out," said Cheryl Froelich, an ATV enthusiast from Brooklyn, a small town along the Badger Trail route. "These flat trails are perfect for beginners."
The equestrian crowd has also been looking for more trail access. Horses are proposed to be off limits on the Badger State Trail, although the DNR's draft plan calls for construction of special horse trails adjacent to the route.
State Rep. Brett Davis, a Republican from Oregon, said he is sympathetic to the various user groups and generally supports multi-use trails. But he said it is unrealistic to think that ATVs, horses and bicyclists could ever mix on the same 10-foot-wide route.
"I've gotten more contacts about this issue than any other since I was elected 11 months ago," he said. "It's not just from the ATV or horse people but the bikers, too."
Silent sports users speak up
Even the limited ATV and snowmobile access has upset some potential trail users. "I live right next to the trail and am very opposed to any motorized use at all," Fitchburg resident James Davis said.
Prey said he was encouraged that so many silent sports users have turned out to voice their support for keeping the trail nonmotorized. More than 300 people supplied written comments on the project, with another 1,500 accessing the DNR Web site on the trail.
"We realize the ATV demand is out there, which is why we wanted to allow some limited access," he said. "The question is how do we make it work without interfering with the silent sports users."
The rail line's long history
The Illinois Central Railroad Co. was incorporated in July 1886 and construction began on the branch line from Madison to Freeport, Illinois. The cost of building the line was estimated at $780,000, but as work
progressed unforeseen difficulties were encountered and the actual cost rose to $1.35 million, a huge sum for those days.
For decades, the Illinois Central operated along the corridor hauling grain, livestock and other freight, as well as passenger trains. Passenger trains ran daily up until the 1960s and freight trains continued to operate until 1976.
But with the railroad business in decline, the Illinois Central filed a petition for abandonment of the line in
1976. At that point the DNR completed a feasibility study to determine whether the corridor would make a good public trail route.
Wisconsin and Calumet Railroad continued to provide some limited rail service until 1991, when the route was officially abandoned. Finally in 1997, the state Natural Resources Board purchased the right of way in 2000 and approved use of it as a trail. The rail tracks were removed shortly thereafter but the trail stood
unimproved until now because of budget constraints.
Eventually parking lots, restrooms, kiosks, benches and signs will be added along the trail. State officials hope to complete the limestone section this year and the final asphalt section into Madison in 2007.
South of Monroe, the trail will reach the Illinois border and then continue south to the Jane Adams Trail in Freeport, Illinois. From there the trail would find connections to the 500-mile Grand Illinois Trail System
that stretches from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River.
"I can see the day when you can ride on a trail all the way from Madison to Chicago," Prey said.
Mike Ivey is a journalist living in Madison and a long-time silent sports enthusiast.
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