The New Berlin Trail (or New Berlin Recreation Trail) is a

shared-use path A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is 'designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists'. Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, bridleways and rail trails. A ...

Waukesha County, Wisconsin Waukesha County () is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 406,978, making it the third-most populous county in Wisconsin. Its county seat and largest city is Waukesha. Waukesha Co ...

. It follows a former

interurban The Interurban (or radial railway in Europe and Canada) is a type of electric railway, with streetcar-like electric self-propelled rail cars which run within and between cities or towns. They were very prevalent in North America between 1900 a ...

route and a set of

We Energies In Modern English, ''we'' is a plural, first-person pronoun. Morphology In Standard Modern English, ''we'' has six distinct shapes for five word forms: * ''we'': the nominative (subjective) form * ''us'' and ': the accusative (objective; ...

power lines.

History

The railroad lining the trail was constructed in 1898 by

The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company , also referred to as the Milwaukee Interurban Lines or TMER&L, is a defunct railroad that operated in and around Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It was the largest electric railway and electric utility syst ...

as part of a Milwaukee-Waukesha interurban route, then fell into disuse in 1951. Planning for the trail began in 1973, though construction did not begin until the fall of 1983. Original plans called for the use of city streets in New Berlin to connect the trail with Greenfield Park, but this connection was substituted with the creation of a bridge over 124th Street after the New Berlin Common Council dropped its support for the idea in December 1981. The trail was dedicated on May 19, 1984, with an initial length of six miles from 124th Street to Springdale Road. In the fall of 1998, a one-mile extension from Springdale Road to Lincoln Avenue was added. The trail was paved in June 2006. In 2020, the trail was designated part of U.S. Bicycle Route 30.

Eastward continuation

In 2004, the City of West Allis began planning the Cross-Town Connector Route, which would have stretched from Greenfield Park to the

Hank Aaron State Trail The Hank Aaron State Trail is a rail trail in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. The trail is named after former Milwaukee Braves and Milwaukee Brewers right fielder Hank Aaron and is built on a former roadbed of the Milwaukee Road. , according to ...

via a

United States Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers a ...

-owned property. It opened the first segment of the West Allis Cross-Town Connector in 2013, acting as an eastward continuation of the New Berlin Trail from Greenfield Park to

Wisconsin Highway 100 State Trunk Highway 100 (STH-100, commonly known as Highway 100 or WIS 100) is a road which encircles the outer edges of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. Route description The road is designed as a Bypa ...

. By 2018, plans to extend the Connector further eastward were delayed by bids for a bridge over Highway 100 being overbudget and the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

resisting efforts to allow bicycle traffic to cross two spur lines. These reasons, additional engineering concerns, pressure from the

Wisconsin Department of Transportation The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Wisconsin responsible for planning, building and maintaining the state's highways. It is also responsible for planning transportation in the state ...

, and the

Wisconsin Legislature The Wisconsin Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Legislature is a bicameral body composed of the upper house, Wisconsin State Senate, and the lower Wisconsin State Assembly, both of which have had Republican ...

banning eminent domain for bike trail purposes led to the City considering abandoning the project. The built section of the West Allis Cross-Town Connector totals .

Westward continuation

A separate trail acting as a westward continuation of the New Berlin Trail into the City of Waukesha was built in two phases: the Barstow to Frederick Street connector in 2018, and a connection between the connector and the New Berlin Trail through an

Eaton Corporation Eaton Corporation plc is an American-Irish multinational power management company with 2021 sales of $19.63 billion, founded in the United States with global headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, and a secondary administrative center in Beachwood, ...

-owned facility in 2022. These connections total .

Route

The trail runs from Lincoln Avenue in the City of Waukesha in the west to 124th Street at the

Waukesha County Waukesha County () is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 406,978, making it the third-most populous county in Wisconsin. Its county seat and largest city is Waukesha. Waukesha Co ...

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and the 45th most populous coun ...

border in the east. At its eastern end, it connects with the

Oak Leaf Trail The Oak Leaf Trail (formerly 76 Bike Trail) is a paved multi-use recreational trail system which encircles Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. Clearly marked trail segments connect all of the major parks in the Milwaukee County Park System. History ...

and the West Allis Cross-Town Connector. At its western end, it connects with the

Glacial Drumlin State Trail The Glacial Drumlin State Trail is a multipurpose rail trail in the U.S. State of Wisconsin. It stretches from Waukesha (near Milwaukee) to Cottage Grove (near Madison). The trail travels through or near the Wisconsin communities of Cottage Gr ...

and the Barstow to Frederick Street connector.

References

{{Wisconsin hiking trails Protected areas of Waukesha County, Wisconsin Rail trails in Wisconsin Transportation in Waukesha County, Wisconsin

History

Eastward continuation

Westward continuation

Route

See also

References