Nearly 30 projects in 18 Michigan counties will share $515,000 in funding for work on the Iron Belle Trail .
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources recently made the awards as part of an effort to push forward toward completion of the trail.
Funded projects were eligible to receive up to $30,000 for work including feasibility studies, preliminary construction, engineering of new trail segments, signs for trail segments and trailheads, and other uses. A list of projects getting funding is posted online.
The trail has two hiking and bicycling routes that combine for more than 2,000 miles (3,219 miles) between Detroit and Ironwood in the western Upper Peninsula.
This is the fourth year the DNR has issued grants specifically for Iron Belle Trail development.