Soft patches near new interchange bog down Prairie Path bikers

The ruts in one 30-yard swath of a recently reconstructed portion of the Illinois Prairie Path are almost three inches deep.

They are usually accompanied by parallel footprints.

"I had to ride through the grass here," said H.R. Hofmann, a Naperville resident who found the new portion of the Prairie Path's Batavia spur tough going at certain points. "Almost everybody had to get off and push their bicycles through here."

Unlike the majority of the 62-mile, hard-packed path that offers almost no resistance even when wet, these soggy spots near the recently opened Eola Road and I-88 interchange in Aurora are frustrating path users.

The redesigned section of the path opened when the interchange was christened two weeks ago and is part of the same project overseen by the Illinois Tollway Authority. Tollway officials said they haven't heard any complaints about the soft spots, but will investigate.

Tollway spokeswoman Joelle McGinnis said the new path was built to the same specifications as the existing path. The base of the path is six inches of crushed stone topped with "limestone screenings." Screenings are the finest particles that pass through a series of mesh layers when limestone is crushed, officials said.

"Someone from our staff was going to take a look out there because we're still wrapping up the overall project to determine if there is a need to make improvements," she said. "We don't build many bike paths."

Paul Mooring, an Illinois Prairie Path board member and longtime path advocate, said he's seen these soft spots occur before, and it just takes a few months for it to work itself out and solidify.

"It happens," Mooring said. "After a few rains it will become hard and those ruts, somehow or another, always seem to disappear.

Hofmann isn't so sure. He said he's been riding various parts of the path for 30-plus years and never encountered soft spots like this before.

"I don't think it's just going to go away with the weather," he said.

Mooring suggested the tollway authority posts signs at some of the larger soft spots warning bicyclists. McGinnis said that's a possibility until the path is weathered flat and hard. Meanwhile, mile markers for this portion of the path have to be changed as well, but it's unclear when that will happen and who's responsible for fixing them.