Celebration set Thursday for $1.3 mil TAP grant funding

The Great Headwaters Trails Foundation (GHTF) invites the public to join the Town of Cloverland in celebrating its award of nearly $1.3 million in Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) funding for Phase 1 of the River Trail project.

The gathering will be held this Thursday, Oct. 22, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the Cloverland Town Hall, 5860 Perch Lake Road.

The grant represents a major milestone in the development of the proposed 10-mile River Trail, which will eventually connect Eagle River and St. Germain with a paved, off-road trail for bicycling and walking. The trail will follow the Highway 70 corridor and, when completed, will connect Eagle River and the Three Eagle Trail in Eagle River with the nationally recognized 52-mile Heart of Vilas County Bike Trail System in St. Germain.

The nearly $1.3 million TAP grant will fund approximately 80% of Phase 1. The project includes construction of a 1.9-mile multi-use, off-road paved trail from Old Highway 70 Road to Wilderness Trail, as well as bicycle route and wayfinding signage along Old Highway 70 Road. These improvements will create a connection between the existing St. Germain trail and the new River Trail segment.

Cloverland is the local sponsor for the TAP grant, while GHTF has committed nearly $500,000 toward the project, including the required local match and engineering/design and administrative costs.

At 5 p.m., a 30-minute information session will provide an overview of the River Trail project, the Phase 1 improvements, the TAP grant and the next steps toward construction.

Light refreshments will be served. Community members, trail supporters and anyone interested in the future of bicycling and walking in eastern Vilas County are invited to attend.