As drivers prepare for a cruise down Route 66 during next year's centennial, a trail extension in southern McLean County will get bicyclists one step closer to a continuous safe path between Bloomington and St. Louis just beside the Mother Road.
Local, county and state officials met Tuesday in the village of McLean to announce work is underway on a 4.5-mile path extender of the Route 66 Trail, connecting McLean to Funks Grove. That's just southwest of Bloomington-Normal. It's a significant stepping stone to connecting two trail systems in McLean County.
“The Route 66 Trail and Constitution Trail are a wonderful gift to McLean County,” said McLean County Wheelers president Kellie Williams. “Not many communities have extensive trail systems. It’s over 40 to 50 miles, and to be able to do that on a bike, scooter, or walk is really unique—especially in Central Illinois and rural towns.”
The $4 million project is in its third and final phase, adding trailheads, drainage and crosswalks. Most of the funding ($3.2 million) came from the Illinois Department of Transportation [IDOT], with a local match of $800,000. It's expected to be finished this winter.
The Route 66 Trail is an on- and off-road network between Chicago and St. Louis. Route 66 Trail branches cut through Bloomington-Normal as part of the Constitution Trail. Off-road path currently exists almost all the way southwest to Funks Grove, Williams said. With this new extension, Funks Grove and McLean will be linked too. Beyond safety, it also has some economic promise with its potential to bring in tourists.
Another extension of the Route 66 Trail has been approved for northern McLean County, aimed at connecting Lexington to the Livingston County line near Chenoa.
In her opening remarks, McLean County Board Chair Elizabeth Johnston said, "McLean County has prospered from infrastructure investments throughout [its] history, from the railways, the roadways and now with the Constitution Trail."
“The partnership with IDOT, Friends of the Constitution Trail and local communities have made projects extending the trail possible," Johnston said. "As a result, we have greater community connections and safer routes to explore.”
Illinois Transportation Secretary Gia Biagi, who was in McLean on Tuesday, noted that Route 66 is still connecting people and places as it turns 100. Biagi said she has a background in both parks and recreation and transportation, making this her favorite kind of project.
"It's all the things. It's mobility. It's economic development. It's recreation. All of those pieces together make it a truly special project," Biagi said.
