Flooding postpones bike trail completion

Flooding along the Des Plaines River last year and this spring has pushed back plans for the riverside bicycle trail.

A ribbon cutting had been scheduled for this month in Des Plaines but heavy rains have delayed construction. A ceremonial celebration will have to wait until at least September, officials said.

Tim Oakley, the city's engineering director, said work to finish the path can begin now that the river has receded.

"It's been under water," Oakley said.

A new ribbon-cutting ceremony will be scheduled sometime in September to mark the completion of the trail.

The new trail is part of a major flood control project under construction. Levee 50 was planned after a pair of devastating floods in the 1980s.

This final phase of work on Levee 50 creates a bicycle trail that will provide a crucial link to 29 miles of the Des Plaines River Trail -- part of the Grand Illinois Trail.

The Grand Illinois Trail spans 500 miles through northern Illinois and is the state's longest continuous trail. Of the 500-mile trail, 200 miles are paved township and county roads while the rest is on limestone trails or paths.

The new Des Plaines path will be built along the new flood wall under Miner Street to Rand Road, connecting the river trail that starts near Elmwood Park and continues along the river through Lake County to close to the Wisconsin border.

The total Levee 50 project, which also added a pumping station, cost $15.2 million. Park Ridge and Des Plaines are splitting a $2 million contribution to the cost of the larger project, with Des Plaines paying about $1.3 million.

Officials note the pumping station helped stave off flooding last summer and this spring.