It took 14 years for the ground breaking ceremony to open the construction phase of the Polly Ann Trail. The ceremony took place at the wooden bridge near the trail by Indianwood Road in Lake Orion.
‘It will take us a week or two to start,? Oakland County Animal Control Director Larry Obrecht told visitors to the site on Aug. 27.
The 12.2 mile trail will be covered in compacted limestone (except two small asphalt sections in Leonard and Oxford). An 850 foot bridge across M-24 will also be constructed to connect the trail.
Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson called the trail an outstanding addition to the area. He also wanted to recognize the hard work of the Polly Ann Trail Council.
Obrecht, a former county commissioner and part of that council, spent years trying to raise funds for the trail that will travel through Orion Township, the Village of Lake Orion, Oxford Township, the Village of Oxford, Addison Township and Leonard.
Frank Fountain, the director of the Daimler/Chrysler Foundation, said it was a great day for the community.
According to Obrecht, Daimler/Chrysler was the underwriter for most of the trail. ‘They extended the first dollars — $250,000,? he added.