DETROIT (WWJ) -- A decades-long mission entered a new phase Monday as city officials broke ground on the Joe Louis Greenway, a proposed 27.5-mile-long loop of publicly accessible green space and walking and biking paths that will connect Detroiters and their neighborhoods.
The greenway, which has been a dream to bring open active space into reach for Detroiters that has been talked about for decades, saw the beginning of construction Monday along Joy Road between Alpine and Greenlawn in the Midwest neighborhood.
Mayor Mike Duggan was joined at the ceremony by members of Joe Louis’s family, local, state and federal elected officials and members of the community as work began to reactivate a nearly three-mile stretch of abandoned railroad easement in the neighborhood.
The first phase of the project, at an estimated $22 million, is expected to be completed by the end of 2021. The entire project is expected to be completed by the end of 2030 and will cost an estimated $211.8 million.
As the greenway project aims to give Detroiters a place to safely walk, run, bike or simply enjoy the outdoors, it also honors the boxing legend and Detroit citizen it is named after.
“The Joe Louis Greenway is about two things: honoring one of our city’s greatest and most loved citizens and creating opportunities for Detroiters,” Duggan said.
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“Not too long from now, residents living right here near Joy Road and Greenlawn will have a safe and beautiful recreational trail that will connect them to our beautiful riverfront and to other great neighborhoods and commercial corridors across our city.”
The boxing legend’s son, Joe Louis Barrow II, said his father “believed that the working man was the hero -- and he loved Detroit.”
The Joe Louis family released a statement, saying “the level of pride for African-Americans in the accomplishments of our dad, Joe Louis, is immeasurable.”
“We realize god’s plan for this grandson of slaves was not just to become the greatest heavyweight champion of all times, but to change the hearts of Americans of all races. Due to the steadfast commitment of Mayor Mike Duggan and the Detroit City Council, the Joe Louis Greenway will stand as a monument to the legacy of the iconic life of a true American hero, Joe Louis, we are eternally grateful.”
The entire project will form a loop, connecting more than six miles of existing greenway along the Detroit Riverfront and Dequindre Cut, while making its way through neighboring cities Hamtramck, Highland Park and Dearborn.
Unlike greenway and rails-to-trails projects elsewhere in the nation, nearly 45% of the land for the Joe Louis Greenway is owned by the city of Detroit. Officials say this decreases the costs and time needed to acquire the land and also “increases the voice that residents and their representatives have in the design of the project, helping it reflect local needs.”
The first phase of the project will transform 2.73 miles of a former Conrail railway from Warren to Fullerton , funded by $22 million in bond funds, $2.5 million from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation for design and construction plans, and $4.5 million from MDOT and the Michigan DNR for the acquisition of the conrail.
Phase One will also include purchasing an existing scrap yard immediately north of Joy Road and converting it into new green space for the trail.