Grand Rapids Township has a new way for walkers, runners and cyclists to get across one of its busiest roads without dodging traffic or crossing railroad tracks on foot. The township says a newly built pedestrian bridge now runs alongside the existing Crahen Avenue bridge, giving trail users a safer route over the tracks that the roadway crosses.
According to MLive.com, Grand Rapids Township Supervisor Michael DeVries said the existing Crahen Avenue roadway was too narrow to safely allow pedestrian passage, which is why the township pursued a dedicated structure instead. DeVries called the new bridge the missing link in the township's trail network, according to the same report. The project cost $700,000, a figure the township's account says included abutments and approaches, though Fox 17 separately reported the broader project represented nearly $1 million in investment.
A Years-Long Fix For A Busy Crossing
Fox 17 reports that Crahen Avenue sees thousands of cars daily, and that the project meant to provide safe passage for cyclists and pedestrians over the railroad tracks had been in development for more than two years. That station's earlier reporting described the span as a 140-foot bridge ready to be installed over the tracks, while the township's account describes it as a 240-foot pedestrian bridge unveiled on Oct. 3. The dossier does not resolve which figure is accurate, and both are presented here as reported by their respective sources.
Similar discrepancies surround the bridge's width. The township's account describes the new structure as 14 feet wide, while a 2015 MLive.com report on an earlier phase of nonmotorized planning for the area described a trail over the reconstructed bridge as 10 feet wide, with room for a barrier. It is not clear from available records whether those two descriptions refer to the same final design or reflect changes made over the life of the project.
Linking Trails Across Three Townships
Once complete, the new bridge is meant to bypass the railroad tracks safely and connect residents to regional trails spanning Ada, Cascade and Grand Rapids townships, per the township's account relayed by MLive.com. Fox 17 reports that the bridge was expected to link the township's trail system north toward Plainfield Township and Grand Rapids, and south toward Ada and Kentwood. Grand Rapids Township currently has about 16 miles of trail system, according to Fox 17's reporting, and the broader Forest Hills Trails network includes more than 50 miles of paved pathways, boardwalks and covered bridges connecting several township and county parks, according to mitrails.org.
The push to build nonmotorized connections around Crahen Avenue is not new. MLive.com reported in April 2015 that the township board had approved a resolution to partner with the Michigan Department of Transportation on a path along M-21, with that earlier project adding 14 feet of width to a road project near Fulton Street and Crahen Avenue at a township cost of $62,800. A separate roadway-bridge project on Crahen Avenue over the Grand Rapids Eastern Railroad, involving superstructure replacement with prestressed concrete box beam, guardrail and approach work, was listed with a completion date of Aug. 22, 2025, according to records from projects.constructconnect.com.
Funding And What Comes Next
Funding And What Comes Next The pedestrian bridge project was paid for entirely through Grand Rapids Township cash reserves. Elsewhere in Michigan, state transportation officials have continued funding similar nonmotorized infrastructure; the Michigan Department of Transportation announced roughly $4.6 million in federal Transportation Alternatives Program grants for trail, sidewalk and wayfinding projects in Allegan and Ottawa counties, according to a release from the Michigan Department of Transportation.
For now, township officials are framing the new bridge as a long-awaited fix to a gap that had forced pedestrians and cyclists to share pavement with cars crossing the railroad tracks. DeVries' description of the span as the missing link suggests township leaders see it as completing a connection years in the making, even as some of the structure's exact dimensions and total cost remain described differently across available reporting.
