Chicago area receives $139M in grants to fund bike paths, walking trails
Over the next four years, Illinois biking and walking infrastructure will be enhanced to the tune of $139.2 million as a result of Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program grants announced last month by the governor’s office and Illinois Department of Transportation.
In Chicagoland, 38 projects were funded along with 29 other ITEP Awarded Projects statewide, part of the state’s long-term capital program Rebuild Illinois. Municipalities in all six northeastern Illinois counties earned grants. The full list is available online.
Awards ranged from $221,524 for a 1.55-mile Elk Grove Village bike/pedestrian path, to $3 million grants for individual projects in Elgin, Lake Bluff, Mount Prospect, Warrenville and seven other metro municipalities. Forest preserve district projects in Cook, DuPage and Will counties were also funded, with Will County garnering three grants.
Since 2019, Rebuild Illinois has required the inclusion of walking/biking projects. ITEP grants are awarded through a competitive application process, with a four-year sunset for spending funds.
In the 2020 cycle, Illinois awarded $105.9 million for 99 projects, including one along Hicks Road in Rolling Meadows. In 2022, 73 projects totaled $129.6 million.
Here are three of the metro area projects.
Algonquin bike path
Algonquin was awarded a $1.2 million grant for construction of 1.16 miles of bike path and pedestrian improvements along Sandbloom Road, from Algonquin Road (Route 62) to the village’s south limits, spanning both McHenry and Kane counties.
A multiuse path extension will be built on Sandbloom’s east side, from Souwanas Trail to Ryan Parkway. A sidewalk will be added on the west from Helen Drive to Route 62, where a new signalized pedestrian crosswalk will improve safety at this key intersection.
A pedestrian-activated flashing beacon will be installed at the Compton Drive crosswalk, providing improved visibility and protection for walkers and bikers. Among other features, the project includes installation of an undersized drainage culvert at Souwanas Creek along with decorative earth retention walls.
Village Engineer Clifton Ganek said this effort is part of a larger street improvement project for which Algonquin is seeking other funding sources. Currently in the preliminary engineering phase, the project timeline has not yet been finalized.
Cenacle Bridge replacement
Forest Preserve District of DuPage County received a $1.06 million ITEP grant to replace a century-old bridge in Warrenville’s Blackwell Forest Preserve, part of the 0.6-mile Cenacle Trail connecting Batavia Road with the regional West Branch DuPage River Trail.
In 2009, the district reinforced elements of the 112-foot span after acquiring the property from the Congregation of Our Lady of the Cenacle, an order of nuns founded in early 19th century France whose chief ministry was conducting religious retreats.
According to the Warrenville Historical Society, they purchased the Chicago Telephone Company’s estate (forerunner of Illinois Bell) and ran weekend retreats for nuns from Chicago beginning in 1939. In 1962, they built a novitiate house for women training for religious life. In 2008, the forest preserve district bought the property.
District authorities determined that routine maintenance would not preserve the bridge. “The Cenacle Bridge has connected people to nature for generations, but it’s long overdue for replacement,” said Forest Preserve District President Daniel Hebreard in last month’s press release.
The ITEP grant supplements other federal and state funding of the entire $2.2 million replacement cost. Engineering is expected to start in 2025, with construction in 2027.
Will County trail connectivity
Filling gaps between existing trails often requires multi-entity cooperation. That’s the case regarding three grants awarded to the Forest Preserve District of Will County totaling $6.5 million and involving multiple park districts and municipalities.
City of Naperville, Naperville Park District and Bolingbrook Park District partnered with the Will County Forest Preserves for the DuPage River Trail — Weber Road Trail Improvements. The $4.6 million project, combining two ITEP grants, includes construction of two paved, off-street multiuse trails, a pedestrian bridge, and an elevated boardwalk.
This new trail section will travel through DuPage River Park in Naperville and Indian Boundary Park in Bolingbrook to connect with an existing section of the DuPage River Greenway Trail, owned by the Bolingbrook Park District. That segment leads east to the Forest Preserve’s Hidden Lakes Trout Farm and Whalon Lake preserves and north to the DuPage Forest Preserve District’s Greene Valley Preserve.
The third project, with the City of Aurora and Wheatland Township Road District as partners, was awarded $1.9 million. It fills a three-quarter mile gap between Hoffman Boulevard in Aurora and Normantown Road, a significant barrier to seamless trail connectivity.
The new path, adjacent to the forest preserve’s Vermont Cemetery Preserve, allows trail users to travel west to Hoffman Boulevard and connect with Aurora’s trail system. Heading east, they access the Forest Preserve’s Normantown Trail or the Naperville Park District’s Tallgrass Greenway Trail.
Tales from the Trails
What Skokie Bike Network members originally brainstormed as an off-season activity is now a midseason biking staple at Skokie’s Sketchbook Brewery & Taproom. Network member Ben Harris, so the story goes, was so excited with the idea two years ago that he scheduled the event in July.
The third annual “Tales from the Trails” storytelling flips on the microphones at 11 a.m. Sunday, July 13, and features nine biking-related stories. Admission is free.
While no one’s obliged to ride to the event, Taproom bike racks were full last year. Over 130 attended in 2024, attracting biking enthusiasts from Chicago and the suburbs including Deerfield, Glenview, Highland Park, Niles, Northbrook, Wilmette and, of course, Skokie. Full disclosure, my story got accepted.
• Join the ride. Contact Ralph Banasiak at alongfortheridemail@gmail.com.