Barton-Bandemer Tunnel Installation
The Border to Border Trail recently celebrated a major milestone – something that’s been desired by the community for decades. On June 3-5, the contractor completed a 48-hour, round-the-clock operation to install the Barton-Bandemer tunnel on the City of Ann Arbor’s northwest side. The tunnel goes underneath the MDOT/Amtrak railroad, and the 48-hour window was scheduled to allow the contractor to fully remove and replace the tracks to complete the tunnel installation. During the outage, a time lapse camera set up by the construction engineers, Wade Trim, captured the action.
Prior to this project there was 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. Completing the tunnel project solves that issue as part of the Dexter to Ann Arbor connection of the B2B Trail.
With this milestone behind us, there is still more to do before the tunnel is open for use, including the installation of stone façade, lighting, drainage systems, artwork, the connecting pathway, a small timber bridge, and site restoration. We expect the project to be open in fall 2025.
Check out the project page for more information: https://engage.a2gov.org/barton-bandemer-pedestrian-tunnel
This project is a partnership between the City of Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County Parks & Recreation Commission, with private funding from the Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative and Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation.