Work begins to extend the Hank Aaron State Trail

Work has started on the extension that will connect the Hank Aaron State Trail to Underwood Parkway, a $328,000 project scheduled to be completed in mid-November.

Crews have been digging out the old rail corridor between S. 94th Place and the Parkway, just south of W. Blue Mound Road. That section of the Hank Aaron had been left untouched during the expansion work from the Menomonee Valley in 2010.

This view shows the work area from S. 121st St. to the east. Photo by Tom Held.

Managers in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and Department of Transportation joined forces to finish the link, which will serve cyclists and pedestrians and provide an off-road commuter route from the western suburbs to downtown Milwaukee. Close to 400,000 people live within 15 minutes of the route.

When the extension is finished with crushed gravel, the path will link Lakeshore State Park to the Milwaukee County Oak Leaf Trail, the New Berlin Recreational Trail and the Glacial Drumlin Trail. It will provide a route, largely off-road, from the lakefront to Cottage Grove.

The crushed gravel will be replaced with asphalt following reconstruction of the Zoo Interchange.

The section in blue shows the latest addtion to the Hank Aaron State Trail.