To promote neighborhood connections and publicly accessible, safe walking and biking opportunities, the City of Detroit is well underway on the construction of a 27.5-mile trail connecting the Detroit Riverfront with Highland Park, Dearborn, and Hamtramck. When fully completed, the Joe Louis Greenway (JLG) loop will connect parks and neighborhoods across the City via several new trails, on-street protected bike lanes, and links to existing trails such as the Dequindre Cut and the Riverwalk. As part of a team working with the City of Detroit General Services Department, Wade Trim is providing survey, structural and design improvements to pedestrian bridges, and construction services along the Greenway.

Named after Detroit boxing legend and City resident Joe Louis, the project has received local, county, state, federal, and philanthropic funding and support since 2017. Wade Trim’s work on the trail began in 2023, and has included segments along Woodmere Street, Lafayette Street, Central Avenue, M-10 Lodge Freeway, and M-1 Woodward Avenue.

Survey, utility design, and structural assessment services were provided for the Woodmere section. Field utility investigations included structural inventories and cleanouts of electrical and stormwater structures. Additionally, a historic cemetery wall bordering the proposed trail and a bridge at Central Avenue were structurally assessed for preliminary alignment considerations. To date, services on the Lafayette Street segment have included survey and record utility information collection. Construction on these sections is expected to begin in 2026.

For the Lodge and Woodward segments of the project, our team completed survey, structural engineering, civil engineering, and landscape architectural services. Historic railroad bridges required structural repairs and aesthetic improvements prior to being repurposed for the Greenway. Structural steel cleaning and painting, as well as numerous concrete repairs to the abutments and piers, were needed. Other improvements included safety fences and railings, traffic safety improvements, concrete plaza and trails, planter boxes, lighting, custom site furnishings, wayfinding, and Joe Louis Greenway branding signage. We are providing engineering and inspection services through construction, which is scheduled for completion in mid-2025.

An estimated 46,000 Detroiters do not live within a 10-minute walk of a park, and a quarter of all residents do not have reliable access to a vehicle, according to the City of Detroit. The JLG will enable 10% of all City residents to access recreational space within a 10-minute walk, with opportunities to enjoy resting areas, green spaces, new trailheads, parks, safety improvements, and artwork created in part by Detroit residents. The entire JLG loop is slated to be complete by the end of 2030.