Berrien County board gets update on trail system

By JULIE SWIDWA

HP Staff Writer

ST. JOSEPH — The Berrien County Board of Commissioners is being asked to authorize the submission of a grant application to pay for an additional 3.5 miles of non-motorized trail in the south county area.

It’s part of a 100-mile plus trail system in Michigan that eventually would connect to Chicago and South Bend, and northward as far as Traverse City.

Marcy Hamilton, senior planner and deputy executive director of the Southwest Michigan Planning Commission presented the proposal to the county board Thursday morning. An authorizing resolution will be considered by the board at its meeting next week.

Hamilton’s presentation to the board at its Committee of the Whole meeting Thursday outlined the proposal for the Niles-Buchanan Trail Connection, which if approved, could receive a $4 million grant with no local match required.

Hamilton said partners have been working over the last several years to connect the Indiana Michigan River Valley Trail and the McCoy’s Creek Trail. Partners include Friends

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of McCoy’s Creek Trail, Friends of Berrien County Trails, United Way/Be Healthy Berrien, the city of Buchanan, Buchanan Township, Buchanan Area Recreation board, Niles Township, the city of Niles, the Berrien County Road Department, Michigan Department of Transportation, Southwest Michigan Planning Commission, River St. Joe Brewery and American Electric Power.

Hamilton said this project is a high-priority route/connection in the recently-completed Berrien County Trails Master Plan that has been endorsed by the county and 31 local municipalities.

A year ago, the county authorized the group to work with the Michigan Infrastructure Office (MIO) to seek grant funding. Hamilton said MIO has identified a grant opportunity called RAISE through the U.S. Department of Transportation and asked a consultant to complete the required cost/benefit analysis.

Hamilton said the analysis for the Niles-Buchanan Trail Connection was positive, so MIO authorized its consultant to write the grant for the project.

The grant would be for construction and construction engineering/ management for a 10-foot-wide asphalt trail along Walton Road, from River St. Joe Brewery to a trailhead at Winn Road.

Engineering, paid for by an earlier HUD grant that was awarded to United Way of Southwest Michigan and administered by Be Healthy Berrien, would begin this year, with expected completion by the end of this year or early next year. Hamilton said construction would then begin in the spring or summer of 2026 and be completed by the end of that year or early 2027.

Hamilton said acceptance of the RAISE grant can be conditional on the receipt of maintenance agreements with Buchanan and Niles Township. The county has been adamant about local municipalities agreeing to pay ongoing maintenance costs for trails within their jurisdiction.

“This partnership model between the county, local units of government and supporting partners has significantly increased the miles of trails being built in Berrien County,” Hamilton said. “People are excited about this.”

She said RAISE grant applications are due Jan. 30 and the Southwest Michigan Planning Commission is providing support to the MIO office to complete the application by that deadline.

The Berrien County board took no formal action on the proposal Thursday, but is expected to approve it next week.

Contact: jswidwa@thehp.com, Twitter: @HPSwidwa