Construction begins May 4 on a pedestrian tunnel beneath Northland Drive in Plainfield Township, creating a safer crossing for one of northern Kent Countys busiest roads as part of the Grand River Greenway network.

The tunnel near Northland Drive and Rogue River Road will cost $10 million and is expected to be completed by November, said Kent County Parks Director Ben Swayze.

This tunnel will make it safe to be on the trail, get past Northland Drive and continue on the Grand River Greenway, Swayze said. Asking somebody that may have young kids or may have mobility issues to get across seven lanes of active traffic on the busiest road in northern Kent County is just not something we can do.

The project includes the construction of a roughly half-mile pathway along the east side of Northland Drive, linking to 7 Mile Road to the north and Cannonsburg Road to the south, according to Kent County.

The tunnel project is funded through a $55 million state grant awarded in 2022 to Downtown Grand Rapids Inc. for development of the Grand River Greenway. The tunnel will link new nearby trail segments to existing routes, including the White Pine Trail and Ada Township trails, as part of the Greenway, Swayze said.

Plainfield Township Supervisor Tom Coleman called the tunnel a must have, saying it will help eliminate all the issues that can happen along Northland Drive involving pedestrians and traffic.

Trails are not just amenities, he said. They are part of what makes a community a great place to live, work and play.

The Northland Drive tunnel is one of six Grand River Greenway projects that are under construction, officials said. Those projects include Johnson Park in Walker, the Oxford Trail in Grand Rapids and the East Riverfront Trail near Acrisure Amphitheater.

Others include the Grand Rapids Public Museum riverfront and the Leonard to Ann trail in Grand Rapids.

Kent County Administrator Al Vanderberg helped shape the Greenways vision in Kent County and said the trail system will encourage outdoor recreation by connecting parks and natural spaces along and near the Grand River.

Without this tunnel, the trail network would remain fragmented, Vanderberg said. With it, we are creating a safer, continuous connection for people who are walking, running and biking.

The Grand River Greenway is an initiative to develop an 85 mile network of riverside trails and public parks connecting the Grand Haven lakeshore to Lowell and beyond. A completion date for the full Greenway project has not been announced, though portions of the project under construction now are expected to be wrapped up by the end of the year.

In addition, construction is expected to start very soon on Cannonsburg Trail, Pettis Trail and a pedestrian bridge over Knapp Street, said Catherine Zietse, Grand River Greenway program manager at Downtown Grand Rapids Inc.

All of our projects are scheduled and on track to be finished by the end of the year, Zietse said. Really excited to see groundbreaking on this one and construction start next week.