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The pedestrian bridge connecting the two halves of the Macomb Orchard Trail over M-53 has officially opened.
Source photo by Matt December
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Two halves of a decade-old project have finally been connected.
The Macomb Orchard Trail, which occupies the abandoned Canadian National Rail Road corridor, was first proposed a decade ago. The trail covers nearly 24 miles from Shelby Township up through the city of Richmond.
This weekend, the pedestrian bridge spanning M-53 officially opened.
Washington Township Supervisor Gary Kirsh and Macomb County Commissioner Don Brown have been working on the project since the beginning. Brown and Kirsh, members of the Macomb Orchard Trail Commission, have both expressed pleasure at the near completion of the project.
“It is very exciting to finally have it done,” said Kirsh. “It is going to connect all of these communities.”
Kirsh said he was excited to be a part of the process during the last decade and sees the connection of the west side of the trail to the east side as bittersweet.
“It is kind of like seeing your child grow up,” he said. “To be able to see it completed in this very short amount of time is very rewarding. The Macomb County Planning Commission, Macomb County Parks and Recreation - we owe them a debt of gratitude.”
Both Brown and Kirsh expressed that safety for people using the trail was one of the reasons they were anxious to get the bridge over M-53 installed.
“My first concern was safety,” Kirsh said.
Brown agreed.
“This is going to be a very important part of the trail in that it will be an improvement in the safety of the trail,” said Brown.
Brown said the completion of the bridge and the near completion of the trail also proves a lot of doubters wrong.
“There were a lot of naysayers,” said Brown, who added that people originally criticized the trail for various reasons, including crime on the trail and that the trail would be too expensive.
“It turns out that every one of those accounts has been proven wrong,” he said.
Brown said the project has been almost entirely funded through state and federal grant money.
According to both commission members, the work on the trail isn’t done.
Amenities will continue to be added and improved along the trail, such as the pocket park in Washington Township and the developing of a park in Romeo. Other projects will include working on informational boxes and booths along the trail to give trail users a better idea of where they are and what is in the surrounding area.
“They will know where the businesses and orchards are along the trail,” Brown said. “People will get an appreciation for the community that they never had before.”
“The Macomb Orchard Trail is a showcase for the whole county,” Kirsh said.
The Macomb Orchard Trail Commission also consists of Joseph Youngblood, Sue Nyquist and Troy Jeschke.
The commission is responsible for cleaning and maintaining the trail.
“It has been a labor of love,” Brown said.
