Blue Star path expected to open Monday

Final concrete work to be done over weekend.

Workers place the final asphalt layer on the multi-use trail along Blue Star Highway from about 62nd Street to the Michigan Department of transportation Park & Ride at I-196 on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024.

Paving of the multi-use path along Blue Star Highway in Laketown Township continued Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. The entire project should be complete and the path open to the public on Monday, Oct. 14, according to Prein&Newhof, township engineers overseeing the work.

The paving, which started Monday, Oct. 7, is expected to be completed Tuesday. Concrete is scheduled to be poured on Saturday, Oct. 12, for the access points to the boardwalks and intersections to make them compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Work was delayed earlier this month due to utility conflicts.

Workers place the final asphalt layer on the multi-use trail along Blue Star Highway from about 62nd Street to the Michigan Department of transportation Park & Ride at I-196 on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024.

The path links the 66-site Shangrai-La Mobile Home Community, 6180 Blue Star Highway, to the Michigan Department of Transportation’s park-and-ride site at Exit 41 of I-196 so residents can have easier access to transportation. The path is 4,200 feet long and 10 feet wide and includes retaining walls and two boardwalks.

There are no other Laketown Township multi-use paths east of I-196 where this project is located.

The first layer of asphalt awaits the second layer on the multi-use trail, left, along Blue Star Highway from about 62nd Street to the Michigan Department of transportation Park & Ride at I-196 on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024.

The long-term plan for the Laketown Township Blue Star path is to eventually link with a 64th Street path and the Saugatuck Township portion of the Blue Star Trail, a 20-mile paved non-motorized path between Saugatuck and South Haven.