The city of Elgin has been awarded a $3 million state grant to build an underpass along the Fox River Trail below the Kimball Street bridge.
Gov. JB Pritzker announced $139.2 million is being awarded to 66 projects across the state, including the Fox River Trail underpass, through the Illinois Department of Transportation Enhancement Program.
The program is part of Rebuild Illinois, which is designed to help make travel safer and more accessible in the communities that need it most, Pritzker said in a news release. With the funding being the largest amount in the program’s history, bike lanes, sidewalks, trails and other improvements are going to be built, he said.
“This is just one part of the state’s larger efforts to reverse decades of disinvestment and create more connected communities,” he said in the release.
State Sen. Cristina Castro, D-Elgin, helped secure the funding.
“This project will enhance the overall accessibility and usability of the Fox River Trail, which is important to me and something I think everyone can get behind,” Castro said.
The underpass will not only enhance local travel and improve mobility, it will make the trail safer, she said.
Cyclists and pedestrians “won’t have to exit the trail, cross the river at Kimball Street and then reenter the trail,” Castro said.
The Fox River Trail is 45.7 miles long, starting in Algonquin and ending in Aurora. It is interrupted just before the Kimball Street bridge and then picks up again south of the bridge.
Elgin is planning to replace the Kimball Street and Chicago Street bridges over the next five years. State inspectors found both spans safe but functionally obsolete, and the city is in the process of doing engineering and environmental studies to rebuild them.
“The underpass resolves current safety concerns by removing the need for pedestrians and cyclists to cross multiple lanes of traffic, making the trail significantly safer and more accessible,” city spokesman Jeff Knox said.
Work on the underpass “will be coordinated with upcoming improvements to the Kimball Street bridge to minimize disruption and maximize the impact of both projects,” Knox said.
The village of Streamwood is also receiving a grant for more than $1.5 million to build a 1.1-mile, 10-foot-wide multiuse path along Irving Park Road. The path will connect with existing bike and pedestrian paths.
Both grants are part of IDOT’s commitment to improving nonmotorized transportation options and supporting local infrastructure development across Illinois, Castro said.
“Dollars we continue to put toward Illinois’ infrastructure are revitalizing aging roads and bridges, creating jobs and growing the economy by increasing mobility across the northwest suburbs,” she said. “Getting much-needed improvement projects over the finish line is a win and will benefit our communities for years to come.”
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
