'Route of the Badger' trail is growing by 11 miles in Racine Co.
UNION GROVE, Wis. - A bike trail is growing across southeast Wisconsin.
Right now, the Route of the Badger covers 340 miles of trails for outdoor activity. The people behind the expansion of the trails have brought in 11 miles of new trails from the Canadian Pacific Railway -- between Sturtevant, Mount Pleasant, Yorkville, Union Grove, and Dover.
Racine County has set aside $500,000 to purchase the new stretch for trails.
"No county funding comes from money generated from land sales, not tax dollars. This money -- that can only be used for land acquisition -- this fantastic opportunity is exactly what the funds were designated for," said Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave.
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"We were able to go work through state government; we were able to do it on a bipartisan basis. The allocation was put into the budget with a 5-year deadline so that the funds had to be spent to the end of that deadline," said Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester).
When complete, the 700-miles-plus network is expected to stretch from Milwaukee to Dousman and south from Sheboygan to Kenosha. Once the Badger's south and west routes are completed, they will further link to trails that connect to Chicago, Madison, and eventually Minneapolis.
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