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| Bike trail will link far ends of Salt Creek | |
| Jul 20, 2006 | |
| Ken Knutson, Staff Writer | |
| The Doings | |
| Pertains to Salt Creek Greenway, Oak Brook, Hinsdale, Western Springs, Westchester, La Grange Park, Broadview, Brookfield, North Riverside, Riverside, Lyons | |
| The wheels are in motion to create a bike trail network extending dozens of miles linking Cook and DuPage counties along Salt Creek. The Salt Creek Greenway Trail, as the project is known, will begin in Busse Woods in northwest Cook, cross into DuPage through Elmhurst and Oak Brook, then link up under the Tri-State Tollway with the existing bike trail in Bemis Woods South near Western Springs. Earlier this year, the Forest Preserve District of Cook County began work on a $1.5 million resurfacing and expansion of its Salt Creek Trail System. The system starts in Bemis Woods and continues 6.6 miles east to Brookfield Zoo. Forest Preserve District of Cook County landscape architect Daniel White said the trail is being resurfaced to create a 10-foot wide path that will accommodate a broader range of users. "It will be more friendly for both bikers and rollerbladers," White said. In Bemis Woods, a former dirt spur trail on the north side of the creek is being improved to become the cross-county connector under the Tri-State Tollway. The section will eventually join with a planned trail on Oak Brook Park District property just east of the Graue Mill and Fullersburg Woods. The Village of Oak Brook is one of the lead agencies in the project and has received federal grant money for the project. Village engineer Dale Durfey expressed frustration with the Army Corps of Engineers, which needs to finish its wetlands impact study before the Illinois Department of Transportation can proceed with construction. "All of us are still waiting for the Army Corps of Engineers to issue the permit," Durfey said. "We applied a year and a half ago. I'm less than impressed." Durfey indicated that he was not aware of any problem that could scuttle the project. The next deadline for IDOT projects is Aug. 4 so he hopes the permit will be issued by then. Repeated phone calls to the Chicago Division of the Army Corps of Engineers were not returned. In Cook County, the trail is being lengthened by about three miles on its eastern end to link it to the Chicago Portage historic site near the Des Plaines River in Lyons. That will increase the total distance of the Greenway to 35 miles from end to end. The district's long-range plan is to ultimately extend the Greenway to the Chicago Portage Canoe Trail on the Des Plaines River. The timeline for that has not been established. Western Springs cyclist Marjery Cosgrove said she and her husband are looking forward to traversing the integrated course. "It sounds good to me. My husband likes cycling a lot, and that would be marvelous," Cosgrove said. White said such a network would enhance convenience and boost exposure of the district's resources. "The Greenway trail is utilizing the Salt Creek corridor to give people recreational opportunities from Busse Woods to Chicago Portage Trail," he said. The resurfacing of the Salt Creek Trail System is expected to be completed in mid-July. The new construction portions are projected to be open to the public by the end of August. |
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