A Viewer Wanted to Know if There's Any Truth to a Rumor About Extending the TART Trail Under South Airport Rd.

The TART trails and South Airport Rd. both see a lot of traffic in their own way. So when a viewer heard a rumor of a plan to extend the trail by going under one of the area's busiest roadways she wanted to know if it's true. If so, how much will it cost and who will pay for it?

The answer is tonight's Fact Finder Report.

When folks in the Grand Traverse Area hear "TART" they think of more than just cherries, they also think of trails.

The TART, or Traverse Area Recreational and Transportation Trail system was formed in 1998 and links together dozens of miles of trails in Leelanau and Grand Traverse Counties.

Bikers, runners and even skiers travel next to and across some busy roads, except for where the Boardman Lake trail hits South Airport Rd.

When you get there you have to turn around or go around. But a viewer emailed us asking about a rumor she had heard that the trail could one day continue south through a tunnel under South Airport.

Diana asks, "is it true?" TART Exec. Dir. Bob Otwell replies, "it is true!"

In fact the idea is older than the TART system itself.

Otwell says, "the roots of this go back into the 1970's actually."

Otwell says that's when Ted Okerstrom, an original organizer of the VASA race and one time Park Place Hotel employee thought to link the downtown hotel to another one of its properties, Ranch Rudolph in the Boardman River Valley.

The first phase of the vision, a trail around Boardman Lake is nearing completion. Now planners are re-visiting the idea of going beyond South Airport Rd.

Otwell says "The link for a natural connection is a long time coming."

Right now you can cross South Airport Rd. at lights like this one put in a few years ago.

Otwell says, "So it's possible but not as convenient as we'd like it to be."

A tunnel under South Airport is their first choice at this point.

Otwell says, "so you could get on the trail behind the library and walk, run or ski all the way to the Boardman River Valley without ever interacting with a car."

Is a tunnel even possible? Planners are hoping to find out sometime in the next few months. They applied for a Michigan Department of Natural Resources grant to cover the costs of a feasibility study. And should know whether or not they received the grant in July or August.

Otwell says, "once we know what the best alternative is and what the cost is then we can look at how to raise the money to make it happen."

And how much might a tunnel under South Airport Rd. cost?

Otwell says, "it's not really the tunnel itself it's the approaches, where the trail takes off, it's fairly complex. That's why we wanted to hire somebody to take a better look at it. I'd hate to hazard a guess at this time."

After feasibility and fundraising, throw in the wild card of the Boardman River Dam removal and then approval by the local government, DNR, DEQ, Road Commission and trail users; a tart tunnel is not in the immediate future.

Otwell says, "It's not going to happen in the next summer or two, but maybe in the next couple of years down the road."

A dream decades in the making and closer than ever.

Otwell says, "As the trail develops further down the river I think it would be a wonderful asset to be able to start in downtown Traverse City and access such a gorgeous natural area is somewhat unique."

We'll keep you updated on the project as it develops. TART planners want public input, what do you think about it?

Leave your comments below.

Click here to go to the TART trail website if you'd like to read more about the trail system and other long range plans in the works.