EAST LANSING, Mich. — The City of East Lansing has been awarded an additional $469,000 in Ingham County Trails and Parks Millage funding to construct an extension of the Northern Tier Trail through Albert A. White Memorial Park and infill gaps in other areas of the City’s trail system.
The City will be seeking matching funds from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources’ Natural Resources Trust Fund Grant program in the amount of $300,000 for the project and, if all funds are awarded, the improvements will begin in summer or fall of 2018. In addition to an extension of the paved Northern Tier Trail from the pond in White Park to the Lake Lansing-Towar intersection, a new welcome sign would be installed as well as interpretive and trail head signs. A raised boardwalk system would also be installed as part of the project along the western side of the park’s existing vernal pond and habitat restoration work would take place in that area. Additionally, improvements would be made to the Lake Lansing-Towar intersection to improve road crossing for pedestrians.
This latest funding news was preceded by an award of 1,088,500 in Ingham County Trails and Parks Millage funding to the City of East Lansing in 2016. Those funds will be used to make improvements to the Northern Tier Trail and repair/replace pedestrian bridges along the trail system this summer.
More specifically, the funding will be used to enhance the sections of the trail that are within Ingham County, including improvements to the asphalt surface, complete trail replacement in some areas and ADA improvements. The bridge work will include improvements to four bridges and the complete replacement of two bridges – one in Albert A. White Memorial Park and one located between Abbot Road Park and the East Lansing Soccer Complex. There will be intermittent closures along the trail as the improvements are completed this summer.
“These projects have been made possible by the Ingham County Trails and Parks Millage, which was approved by East Lansing and other Ingham County voters in November 2014. Close to 70 percent of voters in East Lansing approved the millage, demonstrating a tremendous amount of local support for our outdoor recreational amenities,” said East Lansing Parks, Recreation & Arts Director Tim McCaffrey. “We are excited to be able to take advantage of the funding that is available to improve upon the infrastructure and accessibility of the Northern Tier Trail – a community amenity enjoyed by many year round.”