The state’s latest “Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program” funding awards were announced May 21, and 38 projects to improve bicycling and pedestrian infrastructure in suburban Chicago got money.
The projects come in various lengths, and some might be big changes in small areas — bike-ped bridges, new trails or off-road paths, accessible streetscapes, “projects designed to encourage safe travel across various modes of transportation at the local level,” an IDOT press release says. The 38 suburban projects are part of 66 statewide awarded funding.
The state says an “all-time high in funding was made available during the competitive call for projects, with approximately 74% <of the funding> allocated for improvements in communities that best demonstrated financial need.”
Indeed, some of the funding went to suburbs that are not struggling, like a project to improve and beautify a pocket of downtown Arlington Heights — it got almost $3 million. Downtown Arlington Heights is by no means blighted (picture above), but it’s not bad to hear plans to make the area more accessible and better for bicyclists and pedestrians.
Other notable requests:
- $3 million for a Fox River Trail underpass at Kimball Street in Elgin toward Symphony Way.
- Two requests totaling $3.7 million in Elk Grove Village, including for a path down the center of Tonne Road (see map and report by the Journal & Topics).
- A $3 million request in Evanston to narrow traffic lanes on Chicago Avenue and create a “two-way separated cycle track.”
- A 1.84-mile path mostly along 131st Street in Lemont.
- A $3 million request for a bike-ped bridge in Lincolnwood.
- Numerous Illinois Prairie Path improvements through Maywood.
- A 2.77-mile trail in Midlothian.
- Two requests totaling $4.5 million in Mount Prospect, one for a path involving Rand Road and Route 83, and another along Busse Road.
- Two requests totaling $6 million in Romeoville, including for a 1.8-mile trail along Renwick Road.
- A $3 million request in Roselle to help bicyclists and pedestrians along Irving Park Road.
- A 1.1-mile trail on Irving Park Road in Streamwood.
- A $2.4 million request to replace a pedestrian bridge in Summit.
- A 10-foot path along Route 59 in Warrenville.
- 3 miles of “shared-use roadways and bike lanes” in Wilmette.
- Forest preserve projects in Cook, DuPage and Will counties, one of which targets the Des Plaines River Trail south of Irving Park Road (and maybe the dangerous Irving Park Road crossing?).
Several suburban projects didn’t receive funding. That’s a separate story here.
Detailed list
Here’s the detailed list from IDOT of the suburban projects that got funding, edited a little to fit better on this web page. The unedited spreadsheets are here. For the “Local Match” column: * means a local match of 50% is required and included in the dollar total, and ** means a 100% local match is required and included in the total.
| Town/Agency | Project Description | Project Location | Total Funds Awarded | Local Match? |
| Algonquin | Sandbloom Road: Construction of a 1.16-mile multi-use path and sidewalks. | The project extends from 1,200 feet south of Teri Ln, at the Village limits, to south of the State’s ROW at the intersection of IL 62. | $1,207,520 | ** |
| Alsip | The project consists of completing sidewalk gaps along with accessible sidewalk ramps to establish a viable sidewalk network where one currently does not exist. | The project is located throughout the Hazelgreen area in Alsip. | $3,000,000 | |
| Arlington Heights | Installation of sustainable streetscape, pedestrian, and bicycle infrastructure. | The project is located in Downtown Arlington Heights in the area bounded by Highland Avenue to the west, Wing Street/Davis Street to the north, Dunton Avenue to the east, and 250 feet south of Campbell Street along Vail Avenue. | $2,995,192 | |
| Berkeley | Taft Avenue corridor: Reconstruction and realignment of the Prairie Path crossing. | The project is located at the Prairie Path and Tract Avenue in Berkeley. | $2,379,090 | * |
| Chicago Heights | The underpass realigning and replacing the asphalt pathway; installation of pathway lighting, way-finding signage, fencing and hazardous bridge removal. | McEldowney Park: The project is in Chicago Heights under U.S. Route 30 and Lincoln Highway. | $277,900 | ** |
| Des Plaines | Construction of a 0.5-mile long, 10-foot wide multi-use path. | The project is located on Devon Avenue from Stillwell Drive to Des Plaines River Road in Des Plaines. | $1,222,020 | * |
| Elgin | Kimball Street bridge project: Construction of a new underpass. | The project runs from south of Ann Street to approximately Symphony Way in Elgin. | $3,000,000 | |
| Elk Grove Village | Construction of a 8-foot wide multi-use path on Tonne Road for pedestrian and bicyclist use. | The project limits for the path are from north of Devon Ave. to Clearmont Dr. in Elk Grove Village. | $1,475,775 | * |
| Elk Grove Village | Construction of a 1.55-mile path for pedestrian and bicyclist use within the center median; street and pedestrian lighting, sidewalk, and enhanced landscaping. | The project is located along Tonne Road in Elk Grove Village., Clearmont Drive to Landmeier Road. | $2,221,524 | * |
| Evanston | This project narrows the lanes of Chicago Avenue and creates a two-way separated cycle track. | The project stretches from Davis Street in downtown Evanston to the Chicago/Evanston municipal boundary at W. Howard Street. | $3,000,000 | ** |
| Frankfort | Construction of a 1.5-mile 10-foot wide multi-use path. | The path starts at Pfeiffer Rd. and Sauk Trail and continues south along the east side of Pfeiffer Rd. 0.5 mile to Laraway Rd. where it continues east along the north side of Laraway Rd. 1 mile to 80th Ave. in Frankfort. | $1,632,176 | |
| Glencoe | Green Bay Trail: Construction of a 10-foot wide off-street multi-use path. | This project is along the west side of Old Green Bay Rd between South Ave and Hazel Ave in Glencoe. | $1,170,720 | |
| Huntley | Construction a 3,125-feet long, 10-foot wide multi use path. | The project is located along the east side of IL Route 47 from Oak Creek Pkwy to Freeman Rd in Huntley. | $1,395,324 | * |
| Lake Bluff | Construction of a 1.20-mile new sidewalk, including a new pedestrian bridge crossing. | Green Bay Road, from Signe Court to IL Route 137 (Buckley Road) in Lake Bluff. | $3,000,000 | |
| Lemont | Construction of a 1.84-mile long, 10-foot wide multi-use path. | The project is located along Derby Rd from Pine Needles Dr to 131st Street and along 131st St from Derby Rd to Bell Rd in Lemont. | $568,552 | |
| Lincolnwood | Construction of 560-foot steel truss pedestrian and bicycle bridge with concrete approach slab superstructures and driven piles. | Pratt Avenue bridge will be within Lincolnwood, spanning the North Shore Channel. | $3,000,000 | ** |
| Maywood | Installation of pedestrian lighting, enhanced crosswalk signage, pedestrian activated solar powered flashing beacons, striping improvements, ADA sidewalk ramp improvements, benches, bicycle racks, trees, and other decorative landscaping improvements. | Illinois Prairie Path: The project extends across Maywood generally in an east-west direction, from the western Village limits to 5th Avenue. | $2,392,250 | ** |
| Midlothian | Construction of 2.77 miles of three segments of bike paths, sidewalk improvements, and on-street signed bike routes. | The project include the segments along the 145th Street ROW, the 146th Street ROW (and Natalie Creek), and 145th Street, in Midlothian. | $3,000,000 | ** |
| Mount Prospect | Construction of shared use path, street lighting, filling in sidewalk gaps, crosswalk improvements and installing APSs. | The north end of the project is the intersection of Central Road and Busse Road. The south end of the project is the intersection of Golf Road (IL 58) and Busse Road, in Mount Prospect. | $1,449,876 | * |
| Mount Prospect | Construction of sidewalks, bike path and lighting. | Rand Rd – Wedgewood Ln to Isabella St, IL 83 – Randhurst Village driveway to Highland St, Kensington Rd – Pine St to Randhurst Village east driveway in Mount Prospect. | $3,000,000 | * |
| Oak Forest | Natalie Creek Trail: Installation of a 10-foot wide asphalt multi-use path. | The project is along the north side of 151st St between Ridgeland Ave and Central Ave in Oak Forest. | $2,223,000 | * |
| Park Forest | Construction of a new shared use path. | The project will extend the shared use path from the intersection of Westwood and Norwood Blvd. and run east down 26th Street where it will cross Western Avenue at the signalized intersection. The path will then continue east on 26th Street and connect to the Thorn Creek Trail within the Cook County Forest Preserve. | $2,450,000 | ** |
| Pingree Grove | Construction of a 8,720 linear feet, 10-foot wide biking/pedestrian path. | The project is along IL 72 from Reinking Rd to Thurnau Rd. | $2,259,612 | * |
| Prospect Heights | Construction of 5,108 feet of new sidewalk. | The project is directly on East Camp McDonald Road between S Wheeling Road on the west and N Wolf Road on the east, in the southeast corner of Prospect Heights. | $1,590,318 | * |
| Romeoville | The project includes streetscape improvements and construction of a multi-use path. | The project is located within the IL Route 53 corridor from IL Route 7/Renwick Road north to Taylor Road, then along Taylor Road west to the connection with the existing path network along Taylor Road at Troxel Avenue in Romeoville. | $2,999,928 | |
| Romeoville | Construction of the 1.8-mile asphalt multi-use path. | The project is on Renwick Road from Prairie Bluff Preserve to IL Route 53 in Romeoville. | $3,000,000 | * |
| Roselle | Project elements involve 1.7-mile of on- and off-street bike facilities, pedestrian improvements at intersections, streetscape beautification, and pedestrian lighting. | The project is located on Irving Park Road from West Village Limit to East Village Limit in Roselle. | $2,999,360 | |
| Streamwood | Construction of a 1.13-mile 10-foot path. | The project is on Irving Park Road (IL 19) from 700 East of Irving Park Road at Bartlett Road to the intersection of Irving Park Road and McKool Avenue in Streamwood. | $1,504,000 | ** |
| Summit | Replacement of an existing failing, non-ADA compliant pedestrian bridge. | This project is located along 74th Avenue between 59th Street and 59th Place and spans over the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad (IHBRR) in Summit. | $2,424,753 | * |
| Warrenville | Construction of a new 10-foot wide PCC multi-use path and a new 5-foot wide PCC sidewalk. | The project is located in Warrenville along the east and west sides of IL Route 59. | $3,000,000 | |
| Wilmette | Construction of 2.98-mile shared-use roadways and bike lanes. | The project is along an east-west corridor, Glenview Rd and Wilmette Ave, and a north-south corridor, Ridge Rd, in Wilmette. | $3,000,000 | |
| Woodstock | Installation of colored, stamped-concrete crosswalks at roundabouts and gateway intersections; turf grass, trees and shrubs in center medians; landscaping at intersections and roundabouts; pedestrian/decorative lights at roundabouts; streetlights along a pedestrian/bike path. | The project runs along IL 47 from U.S. 14 to IL 120 in Woodstock. | $2,523,264 | |
| Forest Preserve District of Cook County | Upgrade of the existing trail correcting geometric deficiencies, addressing flooding issues, improving the Metra rail crossing, eliminating an uncontrolled mid-block crossing, and improving access by accommodating new connections. | Des Plaines River Trail: This project is located within Cook County Forest Preserves property between Irving Park Rd and Fullerton Ave in River Grove. | $2,594,547 | * |
| Forest Preserve District of DuPage County | Replacement of a 108-yr old, 112-ft long, five span pedestrian bridge. | Cenacle Bridge in Blackwell Forest Preserve: The project is over the West Branch of the DuPage River in Warrenville. | $1,060,000 | |
| Forest Preserve District of Will County | DuPage River Greenway Trail, Weber Road improvements: Construction of two paved off-street multi-use trails, a pedestrian bridge, and an elevated boardwalk. | The project is located in DuPage Township, including the municipalities of Naperville and Bolingbrook. The northern limit of the project is the existing DuPage River Trail within DuPage River Park, near the intersection of Royce Road/Washington Street. The southern limit of the project is the existing sidewalk just south of the property line of DuPage River Park east of Weber Road. | $1,640,800 | |
| Forest Preserve District of Will County | Wolf’s Crossing Road Trail Connection: Construction of approximately 3/4-mile of off-street, multi-use trail. | The project lies within the jurisdictions of Aurora (west of Hoffman Boulevard) and Wheatland Township (east of Hoffman Boulevard to west of the CN Railroad) and is adjacent to Naperville (west of the CN Railroad). | $1,890,340 | |
| Forest Preserve District of Will County | DuPage River Greenway Trail, north-south connection: Construction of two paved off-street multi-use trails, a pedestrian bridge, and an elevated boardwalk. | This project is located within DuPage Township, including the municipalities of Naperville and Bolingbrook in Will County. | $2,965,440 |
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