Kane County Reporter

Will County Forest District gets funding to start work on trail to Route 66 (LI…

The Forest Preserve District of Will County has received $1.1 million that will pave the way for a new trail linking the district’s longest path with Route 66 in Joliet Township.

U.S. Rep. Bill Foster, D-Ill., presented the check during a ceremony June 2 along the proposed trail route in the Preston Heights area, just south of Laraway Elementary School on Rowell Avenue.

The 1.34-mile, multiuse trail will be built on a ComEd utility corridor that links the forest preserve’s 22.42-mile Wauponsee Glacial Trail with Route 53/Chicago Street, which is historic Route 66.

Trail funding is coming from an appropriation by Foster and U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill,, in the 2023 federal budget.

"I was proud to secure $1.1 million to establish a safe pedestrian and bike path along Route 53," Foster said in a statement. "This project will help connect residents to local businesses, schools and more, all while helping to reduce emissions. "

The Wauponsee Glacial Trail to Route 66 Bikeway also will establish a safe pedestrian connection to health care facilities and other regional trail systems including the Old Plank Road Trail and I&M Canal Trail as well as the 20,083-acre Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie.

“On June 22 marks the beginning of our project,” Meta Mueller, president of the forest preserve board, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, it will still be a few years before it becomes a reality. But, as we all know, the longest journey starts with a single step. And thanks to the assistance of Congressman Foster and Sen. Durbin, that first step just became a leap.”

The short trail connection is a part of a regional network of trails 30 years in the making, with many arising from partnerships with local, state and federal agencies, Mueller added.  “Now there are multiple agencies working to achieve this goal, and together we’re expanding a fabulous trail network throughout the county.” 

This project is the result of a collaboration between Will County and the Forest Preserve District.

“This project will create a safe connection for pedestrians and cyclists between the popular Route 53 corridor and Will County’s beautiful regional trail system,” Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant said in a statement.

Once the forest preserves receive the funding, including an expected $800,000 Rebuild Illinois grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Development, it will begin phase one engineering study to develop a design and a construction timeline.

Eventually, the new trail section in Joliet Township will connect to a Route 66 Bikeway that the Illinois Department of Transportation plans to build along Route 53 from Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie to just north of Interstate 80 on the south side of Joliet.

For more information on the Forest Preserve District of Will County, visit ReconnectWithNature.org.

Issues: Infrastructure and Transportation

Original source can be found here.