Construction is expected to begin next year for a section of a non-motorized pathway in Green Oak Township.

The first link of the trail along Fieldcrest Drive is “heavily used”, according to Township Supervisor Mark St. Charles. Design work is now complete for the M-36/Leman Road trail, which will connect to the first link.

The Board of Trustees recently approved a resolution authorizing the signing of an agreement with the Michigan Department of Transportation, which promises the township will not sell or abandon the asphalt path and will maintain it. St. Charles tells WHMI the agreement is necessary as MDOT is providing approximately $580,000 to help fund the project, and the township will be using MDOT right of ways and state property for easements.

St. Charles says they had hoped to begin construction this summer, however it’s not likely to begin until next year. Tree-clearing for the trail must be done within a specific time frame based on the roosting season of Indiana bats. St. Charles says because the trees couldn’t be cleared by the April 1st deadline, they’ll start in October, pushing construction to 2019.

Once the stretch of trail is complete, users will be able to take the Lakeland Trail up to the Green Oak Village Place shopping center. St. Charles says the state’s Department of Natural resources intends to connect another leg of the trail at the shopping center, so users could essentially take the path all the way into Oakland County. (DK)