$3 million in state funds will support completion of Washtenaw County's B2B Trail

The nonprofit Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative (HWPI) recently received $3 million via the state of Michigan's 2025 budget to support the development and completion of the Washtenaw County-wide Border to Border (B2B) Trail. The project, when complete, will be a paved 55-mile long pathway running across the county and connecting to trail networks in Wayne County as well as Jackson and Ingham counties.

HWPI Executive Director Kiff Hamp says that there are currently 10 miles left to complete the trail. He says the upcoming projects will be “quite expensive,” with most of them located along the Huron River Drive corridor between Ann Arbor and Dexter. He says the new funding will allow for construction on this corridor as well as a bridge to connect the trail into downtown Dexter. The funding could potentially help fund additional B2B projects further down the line.

“The funding is unrestricted besides the requirement that it be used on the B2B Trail,” Hamp says. 

Hamp explains that HWPI works very closely with the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commision (WPARC), which initially envisioned the B2B trail in the 1990s, as well as legislative partners like Michigan Rep. Jennifer Conlin. Hamp says Conlin “was a true champion for the project, working closely with other Washtenaw County-based representatives and senators who were central to our success.” Hamp adds that taxpayers in the county who voted to pass public works millages such as the Washtenaw County Parks millage and the Road Commission millage were integral to securing this funding and continuing progress on the trail.

“We are truly fortunate to live in a community that collectively values outdoor recreational projects,” Hamp says. “Without taxpayer support, projects like this simply would not exist.”

Hamp says that community support is “central to all that we do." Volunteer and stewardship opportunities are available through the B2B website.

“As we get closer and closer to finishing the B2B trail, we will likely look for opportunities to support other regional trails,” Hamp says. “We hope to continue our work with local legislators and other partners who understand the incredible positive value that projects like the B2B trail bring to our communities.”

To learn more about HWPI and the B2B project, visit huron-waterloo-pathways.org.

Rylee Barnsdale is a Michigan native and longtime Washtenaw County resident. She wants to use her journalistic experience from her time at Eastern Michigan University writing for the Eastern Echo to tell the stories of Washtenaw County residents that need to be heard.

Photo by Doug Coombe.