The official opening of the Hank Aaron State Trail western extension is scheduled to take place November 8. The new section of trail follows former railroad tracks between 37th St and 94th Place. The route can be clearly seen on the Milwaukee and Southeast Wisconsin map because it is marked as a railroad line.

There are a limited number of access points to the new trail. On the whole section, there are only two grade crossings. Here are the access points (going from east to west):

• A connecting trail that starts at Pierce St and 37th, goes south down a switchback, goes under the existing railroad track, crossing the Menominee River, and connects to the existing trail at Canal St.
• General Mitchell Blvd in the Wood VA Center, one of the two grade crossings.
• 56th St, a connector from the south.
• The west side of Hawley Rd.
• 68th St, a connector from the north.
• 76th St, the other grade crossing.
• 89th St, an informal connector from the south.
• 94th Place, the present western end of the trail. The continuation of the trail to the west awaits the reconstruction of the Zoo Interchange.

The trail crosses several bike routes shown on the map without connecting with them, instead crossing over or under them:

• The bike trail on the east side of Miller Parkway that connects National Avenue to Canal St (trail crosses over).
• 70th St (crosses under).
• 84th St (crosses over). At this time there is no direct connection to the Wisconsin State Fair.
• 92nd St (crosses over).

Perhaps it is also worth noting the three streets, all with marked bike lanes, that cross over the Menominee Valley on viaducts, thus crossing but not intersecting the older section of trail:

• 16th St
• 27th St
• 35th St

(This post has been cross-posted at Wisconsin Bike Routes)

This from the City of Minneapolis Bicycle Program:

Bicycling Update Subscribers,

Next Monday, October 25^th, a closure of the Hiawatha Trail between 24^th and 26^th Streets will begin.  The closure will continue for up to three weeks, and will facilitate water main work being done as part of Metro Transit’s new maintenance facility on the east side of the trail.

The suggested detour route follows Minnehaha Avenue (which has recently been striped with bicycle lanes) and 24^th Street.

Several years ago a route was cleared and a rough gravel trail was laid from a point just west of highway 31 to Willow Rd in Sturtevant. But then construction mysteriously stopped. Finally the trail has been paved.

Finding bicycle-friendly routes between Racine and the western parts of Racine county is a challenge. The need to cross two railroads and interstate 94 tends to funnel traffic onto the relatively few through roads. With the improvement of this trail, bicyclists now have the option of an off-road route between Racine and Sturtevant.  They can then use mostly low-traffic roads to continue further west. (The exception is caused by the need to use the route 20 shoulder to get under the railroad tracks. Fortunately the shoulders are wide.)