The Fox River State Trail. PC: Fox 11 Online
BROWN COUNTY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — With hundreds of thousands of people taking to the Fox River State Recreational Trail every year, the 21-mile stretch of pavement is a popular — and now relatively smoother — place to enjoy the outdoors.
When Stan Hanson of Allouez bikes the section of the Fox River State Trail in De Pere, he says he’s ready for just about anything.
“It’s just nice to come out here. We go down by the boat launch once in a while. Take a sandwich and just sit there for an hour or so, and just have a pop and pedal away,” said Hanson.
“Many years in the works. The original six miles of asphalt is, I would say, 98% complete at this point in the summer,” said Matt Kriese, Brown County Parks director.
Kriese says three phases of paving started in May.
“The original six miles was paved right around 2001, so 24-ish years old, and it only had two inches of asphalt down. So over the years, whether it’s maintenance vehicles and just the general wear and tear, there’s a lot of linear cracks, which can be dangerous for road bikers, as well as the different potholes and things that were starting to form on the trail,” he said.
Kriese says crews added another inch of pavement and made upgrades to more than a dozen intersections that are now ADA-accessible.
“The trail is fully useable. The little bit that remains is some shouldering, and some line striping that has to be done yet. I expect that to be done within the next week,” he said.
Hanson says he’s already noticed more people taking to that part of the trail.
“It’s really nice blacktop. You can come down anytime. There’s walkers and runners and bikers. It’s a busy place,” he said.
The project cost about $1.3 million. A state grant, user fees and donations helped pay for the initiative.
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