County aims to add bike trail spur in Grafton area

An Ozaukee County committee recommended earlier this month applying for a state grant that would create an east-west spur of the Ozaukee Interurban Trail that would extend west through Grafton to Five Corners in the Town of Cedarburg.

If the $436,985 state Department of Transportation grant is awarded, the project would connect to existing trails to create a more unified network of trails in the Cedarburg and Grafton areas, and eventually extending to Washington County.

The grant would finance construction  of about 9,400 feet of off-road trail within the right of way of Highway 60 and would include about 1,600 feet of existing trail from First Avenue to the Aurora Health clinic in Grafton.

It would also connect to an existing 5,000 feet of trail from Five Corners to the intersection of Highway 60 and Horns Corners in the Town of Cedarburg and a 4,000-foot bike lane from First Avenue to the Milwaukee River in the Village of Grafton.

The existing stretches of trail would likely continue to be maintained by the town and village, county Planning and Parks Director Andrew Struck said.

Struck said in a memo the new trail will “address connectivity gaps” between the Village of Grafton and the Town of Cedarburg, address safety concerns and “facilitate coordination” of “future bike and pedestrian  amenities” between the village and town of Grafton and city and town of Cedarburg.

The project requires the county to contribute 20%, or $109,246, to the project.

Struck said he expects the matching funds to come from donations and municipal contributions.

The county Highway Department will likely do the construction work, Struck said.

A second, not-yet-funded phase is planned that would extend the Highway 60 trail to the Washington County line, Struck said.

Construction of the first phase would be coordinated with the planned reconstruction of Highway 60 in 2026 from First Avenue to Five Corners, Struck said.

The Ozaukee Interurban Trail is a 30-mile paved pedestrian and bicycle trail that stretches the length of the county from Milwaukee to Sheboygan County, following the path of the old Interurban Electric Railway.