First Shovel in the Ground

Wege Easement South

This morning at 7:28 a.m., the first official shovel of dirt was moved for the LARA Phase 1 trail project in the Wege Easement north of Foreman.  Within about an hour, all of the stumps left by our earlier clearing effort were up out of the ground and the air smelled like fresh tilled topsoil.  They plan to bring in a big rototiller to loosen up the soil within the path alignment and then begin grading.  It already looks like a trail!

Stump Removal 101

Yesterday was fairly quiet, just layouts and equipment and sign set up.  The auger pile installation that was originally scheduled for today is being put off for a couple of weeks according to the supplier.  The boardwalks aren't scheduled until early August, so no delay expected as a result.

It is supposed to be 91 today and I think it was about 80 when they started.  Current crew comprised of three semi retired construction veterans who have installed much of the roads and infrastructure in West Michigan over the past 50 years.  We walked them through the south Wege property and reminded them again to "stay between the lines".

The afternoon wrapped up with mowing of the tall grass on top of the berm on the north end of the Wege easement in preparation for stakes and grading.