Some needed patchwork, and maybe more, is coming to the Busse Woods Trail in the northwest suburbs.
The trail system popular with all kinds of bicyclists — serious ones looking to do easy, traffic-free loops when it’s not so busy, and casual ones and families especially on the weekends — has collected plenty of bumps and bruises, even as crews have done a little patchwork here and there recently. Busse Woods is kind of a gateway preserve between suburbs like Arlington Heights, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg, Itasca, Wood Dale, Medinah and Roselle.
Now Jake Hesslau, in the planning and development department of the Forest Preserves of Cook County, says more improvements are coming, and outright repaving will be considered.
“The trail system is heavily used, and there are multiple segments in need of repair,” Hesslau wrote in an email. “We plan to start with patchwork and sealcoating to extend the life of the existing pavement. The paved trail on the north side of Higgins Road is slated to receive these repairs first.”
Starting with the north side is not a bad idea, as that section of the trail that curves through the denser forest has its share of cracks, road snakes (slippery tar covering cracks) and bumps, but really, there are bumps and cracks all around the 7.25-mile loop plus the offshoots. Your hands might even get sore with the tha-thunks in some sections.
“Priorities are still being confirmed for our 2026-2029 capital funds allocation, but the Busse Forest Trail system remains high on the list,” Hesslau said. It’s unclear if some patchwork is happening this year or not. In the last couple of years, crews paved over some of the bumpy cracks across the trail especially on the east side by Arlington Heights Road.
“Full resurfacing will be evaluated after these initial repairs are complete and existing conditions are fully assessed,” Hesslau said.
This video of my wheel traversing all the bumps and cracks gives you an idea of how rough the trail has gotten in spots.
The Busse Woods evaluation comes as the county is removing most drop-gate bollards from all paved Cook County trails, replacing them with signage in most cases. Hesslau had said that the bollard removals in Busse Woods would come in concert with future repaving there.
“As part of the drop gate evaluation, we will be reviewing trail segments where users have limited sightlines or no egress from the trail if a vehicle were to be present,” he wrote in an later email. “Drop gates may remain in areas with those characteristics, such as the bridges over Higgins Road and I-290.”
Hesslau said priorities may shift in the preserves’ 5-year capital improvement plan.
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