Funds approved to buy right of way to fill key bike trail gap in Aptakisic Road corridor

The Lake County Board set the table Tuesday to fill the last bike trail gap along the Aptakisic Road corridor from the Des Plaines River to downtown Long Grove.

The board appropriated $800,000 for land acquisition in two locations along Prairie Road between Aptakisic Road and Route 22 and a third on Aptakisic Road in the Buffalo Grove area.

Funds will be used to acquire right of way to fill what are considered three priority nonmotorized gaps. On Prairie Road, the county wants to fill a 200-foot long sidewalk gap and 600-foot bike path gap.

On the south side of Aptakisic Road, a 2,200-foot long stretch between Prairie and Buffalo Grove roads is sought to complete the trail.

“So, once we fill that in, you’ll be able to go from the Des Plaines River (Trail) on the far west end in Lincolnshire all the way east to (Route) 83 to downtown Long Grove,” Shane Schneider, county engineer and director of the Lake County Division of Transportation said during a recent overview.

Prairie Road will be resurfaced and turning lane improvements to the intersection of Prairie and Aptakisic are being considered.

“These are a couple of key strategic gaps that have been in our plan for awhile,” Schneider said. “The goal is to acquire the land and get this constructed as soon as possible.”

Schneider said he was optimistic Prairie Road will be resurfaced this year. The sidewalk and bike path gaps will be done at the same time depending on the timing of land acquisition.

The goal is to make all the improvements as part of one project. But the Aptakisic bike trail gap could be done separately depending how land acquisition proceeds, said Alex Carr, LCDOT spokesman.

“They’re very strategic and very important, these small gaps,” said county board member Jennifer Clark, who chairs the board’s public works and transportation committee. “I think we need a ribbon cutting when this is all done.”