Hank Aaron State Trail extension ready for finishing touches

Much of the fine gravel has been laid and compacted on the Hank Aaron State Trail extension from 94th Pl. to the Underwood Parkway, and the remaining work on the $328,000 project is scheduled to be done this week.

Bikers will find rough gravel west of 121st St., and that segment will be finished with asphalt to tie the Hank Aaron to the Oak Leaf Trail, just south of Blue Mound Road. The connection will complete a largely off-road bike and walking route from Lakeshore State Park to Cottage Grove.

In an email update, trail manager Melissa Cook said: "I wish we could have completed this segment earlier in the season, so that folks would have been able to use it more this summer. But, I'm just glad that we got it in at all. It will be all ready to go on warm weather days and then before we know it, spring will be here again."

During a test ride on Sunday, I found the narrow tires on my road bike rolled quite easily over the compacted gravel from 94th Pl. to 121st St. The surface was smooth and firm, but riders should watch for a few soft spots and the drop-off on the edges of the pathway.

We encountered more than a dozen other bikers and an equal number of walkers checking out the work paid for by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.

Craig Mastantuono rolls easily on the compacted stone used to extend the Hank Aaron State Trail. This shows the trail immediately west of 94th Pl. Photo by Tom Held.