A $300,000 fundraising goal for the Michigan portion of the Marquette Greenway trail project has been reached thanks to donations made during a giveback dinner for the project last month. The Friends of the Berrien County Trails tell us a surprise $120,000 matching challenge grant was made by an anonymous donor, and then a $100,000 donation came in from a family foundation to put the fundraising campaign over the top at the November 3 dinner at Bentwood Tavern in New Buffalo. Those extra funds mean the effort to raise a total of $5.6 million for the four-mile Michigan portion of the Marquette Greenway is finally complete. The Marquette Greenway is a trail that’s planned to run from Chicago to New Buffalo. Phase I of the Michigan portion of the trail from New Buffalo to Grand Beach will be completed by 2024, and Phase II along Grand Beach Road is expected to be completed in 2025. The Friends of Berrien County Trails say after 17 years, an end is finally in sight for the project, which is expected to be done in 2027.
