(JUNEAU) People in Dodge County are getting closer to seeing the next piece of the Gold Star Memorial Trail take shape, with construction on a key segment now expected to begin later this year.
County Parks Director Bill Ehlenbeck says the long-planned Phase 2 section — connecting Horicon to the Wild Goose State Trail — is nearly ready to move forward after months of design work and delays tied to land agreements.
“We’re kind of wrapping up,” Ehlenbeck said, noting the project has been in the design phase for nearly two years. “There’s some real estate issues that we needed to address,” but those are expected to be resolved soon, clearing the way for bids to go out this summer.
If that timeline holds, construction could begin by late summer or fall.
The trail has been in the works for more than a decade, growing from an idea to connect Mayville to the Horicon Marsh into a larger effort to link communities across the county. Gold Star families helped shape that vision, asking that the trail also serve as a memorial to service members who died in the line of duty.
Once complete, the paved, 10-foot-wide path will stretch from Mayville to Beaver Dam, giving people a safer place to walk and bike while connecting to the existing Wild Goose Trail.
While attention is focused on getting Phase 2 built, the county is also looking ahead. A feasibility study for the next section — the longer and more complex stretch from Beaver Dam to the Wild Goose Trail — is expected to begin later this year.
That phase will likely take years and significant funding to complete, but Ehlenbeck says momentum is building.
“It’s been a concept and a vision for decades,” he said. “We’re hoping we have enough support to keep moving forward.”
–Photo courtesy of the Gold Start Memorial Trail WI Facebook page
