New trail planned for DuPage County preserve

Hidden Lake Forest Preserve near Downers Grove is expected to get a new trail as part of a state plan to improve the intersection of Route 53 and Butterfield Road.

The Illinois Department of Transportation is planning to reconstruct Butterfield from Route 53 to I-355 in Downers Grove. The project is included in IDOT's multiyear highway and bridge program.

IDOT has reached out to the forest preserve seeking right-of-way and easements for the intersection improvement.

In exchange for some land, IDOT is offering to build a path for pedestrians and bicyclists at Hidden Lake, which is at the southeast corner of the intersection.

On Tuesday, the forest preserve commission authorized Executive Director Michael Hullihan to sign a letter of intent from IDOT about the improvements at Hidden Lake.

IDOT is planning to build a trail that will run from the corner of Butterfield and Route 53 and connect to an existing path, part of which will be resurfaced. The new trail then will continue south along Route 53 to the Hidden Lake property line.

A total of 0.6 mile of path will be built and 0.2 mile of trail will be resurfaced, officials said.

Forest preserve officials said the new trail will become part of the East Branch DuPage River Trail, a proposed 31-mile regional trail that starts in Bloomingdale and runs through DuPage. It becomes the DuPage River Trail in Will County.

"The more we can connect trails in the county, the better," forest preserve President Joseph Cantore said. "That's one of our goals."