Title
Resolution to Approve an Agreement with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) for the Barton-Bandemer Park Pedestrian Tunnel
Memorandum
Attached for your review and consideration for approval is an agreement with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) for the Barton-Bandemer Park Pedestrian Tunnel to occupy the railroad right of way.
The Tunnel is a key connection allowing the Border-to-Border Trail (B2B Trail) to extend westward from Bandemer Park through Barton Nature Area. It was funded as a joint Project by the City, Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission, and the non-profit Huron Waterloo Pathways Initiative.
The Tunnel Project included the construction and installation of a sub-grade box culvert tunnel within the railroad right of way and under the MDOT tracks, along with approximately 800 feet of concrete pathway, parking area improvements, and related facilities providing a highly-desired connection between the new segment of the B2B Trail in Barton Nature Area and the existing B2B Trail in Bandemer Park. It provides a safe grade-separated crossing that addresses a known at-grade trespassing hazard on MDOT property at this location where pedestrians were known to cross the railroad tracks.
The Tunnel was constructed under the MDOT railroad tracks in June 2025, and the Project is now complete and open to the public. The proposed agreement is required under the Michigan Railroad Code of 1993, specifically MCL 462.319.
The State of Michigan owns the railroad right of way and the tracks under which the Barton-Bandemer pedestrian tunnel is located. By agreement, the State delegates certain rights to the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) for passenger train operations, and as such Amtrak is also an affected railroad under MCL 462.319 and a party to the agreement.
The City and its construction contra...
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