Luke Taylor: What's happening on the trail underneath I-72 in west Champaign?

Luke Taylor, The News-Gazette, Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
·1 min read

Jun. 30—What's happening on the trail beneath I-72?

The Greenbelt Bikeway runs along the Copper Slough and goes through Dodds and Heritage parks and connects to Kaufman Lake, but the connection between Heritage and Kaufman became unusable over time, according to Champaign Park District Planner Andrew Weiss.

Of the three box culverts under Interstate 72, two were intended for the drainage ditch and one was intended for the bikeway.

"But through flooding over the years the Copper Slough reclaimed this culvert as well," Weiss said.

Walkers and cyclists ended up going alongside the railroad — not the safest place to be — and carving out their own path.

In the interest of making it a bit more safe and accessible, the parks district obtained a $300,000 grant from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources' Bike Path Program to build in a concrete path. The project is scheduled to be finished later this summer.

The parks district worked with the Canadian National Railway Company and the Illinois Department of Transportation, as well as utility companies, to pull this off.

"CPD doesn't own this portion of property between Heritage Park and Kaufman, so that's why we need to coordinate with so many agencies to accomplish the safe and accessible passage for trail users," Weiss said.