Barton-Bandemer Pedestrian Tunnel

Project Overview

The City of Ann Arbor is partnering with Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission and the Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative (HWPI) to construct a pedestrian tunnel beneath the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) railroad between Bandemer Park and Barton Nature Area. This is an essential connection for the countywide Border to Border (B2B) Trail.

Project Details

This pedestrian tunnel will fill a critical gap on the B2B Trail and provide a safe pedestrian and bicycle gateway to the city in the North Main Street and M-14 corridor area.

This project is the second phase of a two-phase project to extend the B2B Trail westward in the city of Ann Arbor through Barton Nature Area. This pedestrian tunnel will connect the new segment of the B2B Trail in Barton Nature Area with the existing B2B Trail network in Bandemer Park and to the east. Eventually, the B2B Trail is planned to connect Ann Arbor to the parks and communities further to the west, including Delhi and Dexter.

Currently, there is no safe and legal connection for pedestrians and bicyclists between the B2B Trail in Bandemer Park and Barton Nature Area or Huron River Drive, and many pedestrians and bicyclists choose to illegally cross the railroad tracks at this location, showing that it is a highly desired route.

Project Scope

The scope of work includes the following:

pedestrian tunnel
pathway connections to the tunnel
renovation to the parking lot off Huron River Drive
public art installation on the tunnel's interior

A 48-hour railroad track outage is anticipated on June 3^rd & 4^th to allow for construction.

What are the funding sources?

This project is jointly funded by the City, the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission (“County”), and the non-profit Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative (“HWPI”). Each organization is responsible for 1/3rd of the cost of the project. For the City’s portion of the costs, funding is available from the Park Maintenance and Capital Improvement Millage. A portion of the County’s funding is from the four-year county-wide road and trails millage that was recently renewed by voters in 2024. HWPI’s portion of the project costs is funded by a grant from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and generous donations from other private donors.

This connection has been desired for more than two decades, but due to insufficient funding and the difficulty of obtaining approvals from the railroad, progress on the tunnel was delayed. The project was finally able to move forward when funding became available from the city’s partners at the county and HWPI, and when the railroad changed from private ownership to being publicly owned by MDOT.

The following access restrictions will be in place during construction:

There will be NO access within the construction site (see map under "project boundaries." Please comply with posted signage, barriers, and other noted access restrictions. Crossing of the railroad track is illegal (unless where signage indicates otherwise).
The pedestrian bridge from Huron River Drive into Barton Nature Area will be closed for the duration of construction. Access to Barton Nature Area is available from the north west near Barton Dam.
The gravel parking lot off Huron River Drive, just south of the pedestrian bridge, will also be closed for the duration of construction.
There will be a pedestrian detour in Bandemer Park around the construction site.
During the 48-hour track outage, the vehicle bridge into Bandemer Park from Barton Drive will be closed to traffic.
Equipment and construction traffic will access the site off Huron River Drive and from Bandemer Park and may cause temporary traffic delays.
Noise potential from equipment