At 12:18 p.m. on Sunday, May 10, someone walking the North Bank Trail in Spring Lake Township took a few photos. The trail between 148th Avenue and N. Fruitport Road was still intact. At 12:36 p.m., someone made the first 911 call reporting that the same stretch had collapsed.
That was Mother's Day. The Tribune's first headline said the trail would probably stay closed all summer. Summer has ended, and the closure now runs through fall and winter as well. Spring Lake Township's latest notice, posted August 26, says this section "will remain closed until spring 2027."
So the gap in the trail is a full-season story. The rest of the township's path network kept growing this year, and much of that new pavement sits a few blocks north, on the same roads the detour uses.
Eighteen Minutes on an Old Rail Grade
The North Bank Trail follows a former railroad line. Township officials don't yet know for sure what caused the collapse. Their best working theory is that the land bridge under this stretch was built on old timbers and other organic material, which likely rotted after soaking in water for many years.
The collapse also broke the sewer line under the trail. That regional line serves both Spring Lake Township and Crockery Township and usually carries about 10,000 gallons an hour. Township public works crews laid about 900 feet of temporary sewer line and set up pumps that same afternoon. They used the township's own equipment plus some borrowed from Grand Haven and Ferrysburg, and the flow was secure again by about 7 p.m.
The sewer line explains a lot about the repair schedule. Repaving the trail comes after two other jobs: making the ground under it stable and fixing the pipe permanently.
Why the Gap Waits for Spring
The repair has three phases. The Tribune's August 22 update described them this way:
- Phase I is finished. It covered material removal, stabilizing the ground below the surface and a temporary sewer repair.
- Phase II is the township's top priority. It's the permanent sewer repair, which will end the bypass pumping in the area.
- Phase III covers paving and rebuilding the trail itself.
The Spring Lake Township Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve Phases I and II, at an expected cost of $391,500. Project engineer Prein & Newhof estimates that Phase III will bring the total to about $700,000. The engineers also recommended waiting until spring 2027 to pave, even though much of the other work is expected to finish this year. A September 25 report in The Laker Anchor gave the plain-language version. The trail can't reconnect until spring, "when the ground settles."
Schmidt Bros. Excavating and Northern Pipeline Contractors are doing Phases I and II. Because the collapse was an emergency, that work wasn't put out to bid. Trustees agreed to bid out Phase III to get a more competitive process.
The budget took another hit as well. Township Manager Gordon Gallagher said the township's insurance claim had been denied, with an internal appeal pending, and staff were considering a switch to a different insurance company. "It's not been something that we were hoping would happen, but we're trying to make the best of this," Gallagher told the Tribune. As of early October, we couldn't find a public update on the appeal or a Phase III contract award.
The Detour, Turn by Turn
Until spring, the township's posted detour takes trail users onto the road grid north of the gap.
Heading west, toward N. Fruitport Road:
- Turn north onto 148th Avenue.
- Turn west, which is a left, onto State Road.
- Turn south, another left, onto N. Fruitport Road and pick the trail back up.
Heading east, toward 148th Avenue:
- Turn north onto N. Fruitport Road.
- Turn east, which is a right, onto State Road.
- Turn south, another right, onto 148th Avenue and pick the trail back up.
You can find the township's detour map on its North Bank Trail collapse update, and more background is on the township's Community Engagement page.
The detour is really a loop through three roads: 148th Avenue, State Road and Fruitport Road. Those same roads keep coming up in the rest of this year's path work.
State Road Already Had New Pavement
Five weeks after the collapse, the township held a celebration on State Road. On Thursday, June 18, officials and residents gathered in front of Country Estates to open a new 0.5-mile path extension. It connects neighborhoods near the 144th Avenue and State Road intersection to the township's path network and links up with an existing one-mile path along State Road.
"It's a part of the fabric of our community."
The Tribune used that line from Township Supervisor Jerry Rabideau as the headline for its coverage of the opening. Schmidt Bros. Excavating built the extension after submitting the lowest of seven bids. It's the same company now working under the North Bank Trail, so one contractor has spent the year both adding new trail and rebuilding old trail in the same corner of the township.
Hickory and Rannes, Still Under Construction
There are two more segments in the 2026 build-out, and one of them runs between the same two roads that frame the detour.
The Hickory Street path is 8 feet wide and runs along the south side of Hickory between Fruitport Road and 148th Avenue, with pedestrian crossings at both intersections. The Rannes Street path goes on the north side of the road and will connect existing trails at Leonard Road and 152nd Avenue. Bob's Asphalt Paving Inc. of Ravenna won the contract in March. Its bid was the lowest of the six the township received, by nearly $200,000. The two paths together are expected to cost $1,238,909. They make up Phase II of the township's extension project, which follows earlier work on State Road, 152nd Avenue and 174th Avenue.
Both paths started late. Hickory was originally set to begin on July 15, then slipped four weeks because of a contractor delay, with four weeks of construction planned after that. Rannes was pushed to early September and was expected to take six weeks, finishing in mid-October. Crews on both projects work weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. As of early October, we hadn't found an announcement that either path is open. The Township Board's September 14 agenda didn't list either one.
Here's where every piece of the north-side map stands this fall:
| Segment | Location | Contractor | Status as of early October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Bank Trail repair | 148th Ave to N. Fruitport Rd | Schmidt Bros. Excavating, Northern Pipeline Contractors | Closed. Township expects it to reopen in spring 2027 |
| State Road extension | Near 144th Ave and State Rd | Schmidt Bros. Excavating | Opened June 18 |
| Hickory Street path | South side, Fruitport Rd to 148th Ave | Bob's Asphalt Paving | Delayed four weeks. No opening announced |
| Rannes Street path | North side, Leonard Rd to 152nd Ave | Bob's Asphalt Paving | Expected to finish in mid-October |
Two Bills for One Path Network
The new paths are paid for by a decision voters made two summers ago. On August 6, 2024, Spring Lake Township voters approved two separate bike path questions. The first renewed a 0.49-mill levy for maintaining the township's 22 miles of existing paths. The second created a new 0.50-mill levy for planning and building more paths and connections to other trail systems. Both run for 10 years. MLive reported that the renewal passed 3,291 to 1,397 and the new levy passed 2,950 to 1,815, and that both run through 2033. The maintenance levy dates back to 2004 and was renewed once before, in 2014. The Tribune's construction coverage identifies the 2024 new-path millage as the funding for Hickory and Rannes.
The North Bank repair came with no such plan behind it. It's an emergency job of about $700,000 on a corridor nobody expected to fail, and the insurer has declined to cover it so far. At the May informational session, Gallagher and Rabideau told residents the township is financially secure and can repair the damage properly. The Laker Anchor described the township as moving ahead on a $3.8 million expansion of its bike path system while the collapse repair waits for spring, and it reported that the closure has frustrated residents who use the path every day.
Until the ground settles and Phase III paving is done, the trail map has a gap between 148th Avenue and N. Fruitport Road. Getting around it means taking State Road, where the township opened new path this June.
At Fortress Realty, we track projects like the North Bank repair and the Hickory and Rannes paths because they shape day-to-day life on specific Spring Lake streets. If you're wondering how this year's path work affects the value of your home, start with a free home valuation and we'll go through it with you.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
