New trail planned for Buffalo Creek preserve
A new trail and other amenities are being planned for the bike riders, hikers and nature lovers who enjoy the Buffalo Creek Forest Preserve.
New bridges, boardwalks and a crushed gravel trail stretching three-quarters of a mile are part of the project at the 408-acre site near Buffalo Grove, according to a Lake County Forest Preserve District memo.
Additionally, parts of the existing trail and bridge system will be moved to higher elevations to reduce flooding.
"It's really going to be a beautiful facility," forest district Executive Director Tom Hahn told the board's planning and restoration committee during a discussion Monday in Libertyville.
Members recommended the full board hire a Libertyville firm to handle the engineering work needed for the construction.
Pearson Brown Associates will be paid $148,550 if the full board approves the contract next week.
The work had been expected to cost $100,000, the memo indicated. The price went up because the site is in a flood plain and costly water-related studies are needed, said Michael Fenelon, the district's director of planning conservation and development.
The project was included in the capital improvement plan for the 2012 fiscal year. The entire job is expected to cost $1.5 million.
The Buffalo Creek preserve is on the northwest corner of Lake-Cook and Arlington Heights roads. It includes 4 miles of gravel trails that go through prairie land and overlook a reservoir.
The land was acquired from a farming family in stages between 1978 and 1987. Much of the site is managed for flood control.
In addition to the trail and bridge work, plans call for the preserve's parking lot to be expanded by 27 spaces. Committee leader Bonnie Thomson Carter also recommended officials add another comfort station - essentially, outdoor toilets - to the preserve.
"It's a long trail," said Carter, an Ingleside Republican.