Work is now underway on the extension connecting the Hank Aaron Trail at 94th Court to the Oak Leaf Trail. The connection takes place at a small park on the south side of Bluemound near the Milwaukee-Waukesha county line. This park is also at the southern end of a new underpass that carries the Oak Leaf Trail under Bluemound.
The new section of the trail will be surfaced with crushed limestone until the planned reconstruction of the Zoo Interchange is completed. The remainder of the trail is paved except for a short stretch east of Miller Park (called “Valley Crossing”) which is also used by construction equipment.
I just rode the newly paved middle section of the Lake Country trail. The trail is now paved throughout its length (except for a short detour near county P). While the trail is mostly a rail-to-trail conversion with mild grades, the newly paved portion follows a power directly over a moraine next to the Nagawaukee golf course. So it is quite steep (I am told the state denied a grant application because the grade did not meet standards), but still much nicer paved.
In the same area, the trail along Cushing Park Rd between the Lake Country trail and the Glacial Drumlin trail is mostly open (one bridge was still unfinished when I looked but is easy to get around by taking the road). A side trail leads across the park to connect with the road up Lapham Peak.
An extension of the Brown Deer Trail is now paved and ready to open between Brown Deer Rd and Brown Deer Park. This is good news for several reasons. It eliminates the need for a potentially dangerous left turn between Green Bay Ave and the old village center of Brown Deer. It also means that the Interurban trail system is connected to Milwaukee county’s Oak Leaf Trail. Finally, the Interurban Trail system now runs from Brown Deer Park to Oostberg in Sheboygan County (with a few on-street interruptions).
(cross-posted at Bikeverywhere)
The new bicycle bridge on the Oak Leaf Trail is finally open. It replaces the old railroad bridge in Shorewood.
Near Delafield in Waukesha county a trail is being constructed that will eventually connected the Glacial Drumlin State Trail with the Lake Country Trail. The trails runs on the east side of Cushing Park Road. A short section was constructed last year that went south from Main Street to the Lapham Peak state park boundary. Construction has started on a section that would extend the trail south to Abitz Road. Most of the construction is in the state park.
Several plans have been announced for construction in 2011:
- Hank Aaron Trail extension. Presently the Hank Aaron State Trail ends at 94th Place in West Allis. Bikes can continue west on the old right of way but the pathway is quite rough, more suitable for mountain bikes than road bikes. Plans have been announced to put in a temporary crushed stone surface connecting the HAST to the Oak Leaf Trail. Following the reconstruction of the Zoo Interchange, plans are to construct a paved surface.
- Lake Country Trail paving. Last year both the western and eastern ends of the Lake Country Trail were paved, leaving the middle section, mainly through Nagawaukee County Park, unpaved. On its website the Waukesha county parks department has announced that paving the middle section will start this spring. This announcement should be treated with a bit of skepticism since the paving of the middle section was originally announced for last year.
- Oak Leaf to Ozaukee Interurban Trail connector. For some time plans have developed, and grants have been announced, to build a trail connecting the Ozaukee Interurban Trail (in the person of the Brown Deer Trail at Brown Deer Road) to the Oak Leaf Trail at Hampton Avenue on the north edge of Estabrook Park. The connector would use both WE Energies right of way dating from the old Interurban tracks and unused railroad tracks. Phase I of this project from Brown Deer Road to Bradley Road, connecting the Brown Deer Trail to the Oak Leaf Trail at Brown Deer Park, scheduled to take place this summer. While short, this section would eliminate a very tricky left turn between Green Bay Road and the old village of Brown Deer, a turn that is dangerous in both directions.
- Downtown to Bay View connector. This path would utilize long-abandoned railroad tracks east of First Street between National Avenue and Kinnickinnic Ave, replacing part on the on-street route between downtown Milwaukee and Bay View. This project was first presented some years ago, unfortunately as an alternative to allowing bicycles on the Hoan Bridge.
I would be very disappointed if these are the only bike-oriented projects around Wisconsin. Please let me know about those I have missed.
Cross-posted at Bikeverywhere.
Construction on the bridge crossing Capitol Drive in Shorewood has halted for the winter. It is now expected to be completed in March or April. Since Capitol Drive has been reduced to one lane during construction, the connection between the bike path and Estabrook Parkway is problematic. The safest route may be to use the detour along Wilson Drive and Hampton. A bike path connects Wilson and the Oak Leaf Trail along the south side of Hampton.
However the bridge on the Milwaukee River Parkway in Lincoln Park has finally opened.
Update (December 31): All four lanes of Capitol Drive are open, plus bike lanes.
When I first researched the Milwaukee and SE Wisconsin bike map, I prepared some notes on the routes and posted them on this website. They had not been updated since, an omission pointed out by one of our readers.
They have now been updated and can be seen here. I very much appreciated comments and additions.
The Oak Leaf Trail bridge over Capitol Drive in Shorewood is nearing completion. The span was installed Thursday night and the bridge is scheduled to open in mid-December.
The Milwaukee River Parkway between Hampton and Silver Spring is still closed for a bridge project. That bridge is nearly completed but still not opened. It seems likely that mid-December is also a good estimate of when that might reopen.
Probably the most direct bypass in the meantime uses Santa Monica Blvd.
The official opening of the Hank Aaron State Trail western extension is scheduled to take place November 8 at 11 am. The location is 3700 W Pierce St (the southern end of the new Valley Passage). The new section of trail follows former railroad tracks between 37th St and 94th Place. The route can be clearly seen on the Milwaukee and Southeast Wisconsin map because it is marked as a railroad line.
There are a limited number of access points to the new trail. On the whole section, there are only two grade crossings. Here are the access points (going from east to west):
- A connecting trail that starts at Pierce St and 37th, goes north down a switchback, goes under the existing railroad track, crossing the Menominee River, and connects to the existing trail at Canal St.
- General Mitchell Blvd in the Wood VA Center, one of the two grade crossings.
- 56th St, a connector from the south.
- The west side of Hawley Rd.
- 68th St, a connector from the north.
- 76th St, the other grade crossing.
- 89th St, an informal connector from the south.
- 94th Place, the present western end of the trail. The continuation of the trail to the west awaits the reconstruction of the Zoo Interchange.
The trail crosses several bike routes shown on the map without connecting with them, instead crossing over or under them:
- The bike trail on the east side of Miller Parkway that connects National Avenue to Canal St (trail crosses over).
- 70th St (crosses under).
- 84th St (crosses over). At this time there is no direct connection to the Wisconsin State Fair.
- 92nd St (crosses over).
Perhaps it is also worth noting the three streets, all with marked bike lanes, that pass over the Menominee Valley on viaducts, thus crossing but not intersecting the older section of trail:
(This post has been cross-posted at bikeverywhere)
