Celebrating the renovation of 4.4 miles of the Des Plaines River Trail running from Lawrence Avenue to Touhy Avenue, Forest Preserves of Cook County and Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Commissioner Maggie Trevor, Forest Preserves Interim General Superintendent Eileen Figel, and other local elected officials and guests cut the ribbon at a new pedestrian bridge spanning Lawrence Avenue this morning.
In conjunction with rerouting a section of trail, the bridge replaces an underpass that had frequently flooded, closing the trail for users. Due to proximity to the Des Plaines River, flooding and muddy trails have been an issue in many parts of the Des Plaines River Trail system.
The $12.5 million renovation project also includes rerouting other segments for safety and better trail conditions; traffic signal and ADA improvements at East River Road, Bryn Mawr Avenue, Higgins Avenue, Talcott Road, Devon Avenue and Dee Road, widening and resurfacing the trail as needed; and adding approximately 1,000 feet of boardwalk to raise the path profile above the 100-year flood elevation.
“The more than 350 miles of paved and unpaved trails in the Forest Preserves of Cook County are a gateway to nature and they are the Preserves’ most popular amenity,” President Preckwinkle said. “The ongoing work to make the Des Plaines River Trail easier to enjoy and safer to use is a great benefit to local residents and nature lovers across Cook County. I thank our partners for their dedication to making it a reality.”
The Village of Rosemont and City of Park Ridge worked with the Forest Preserves to secure federal funds through Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program and the locally programmed Transportation Alternatives Program, which paid for 80 percent of the project’s engineering and construction. State funds and Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways Motor Fuel Tax funds covered the local share.
“The Des Plaines River Trail is one of our most popular trail systems in the Forest Preserves. It covers more than 28 miles from Lake Cook Road to North Avenue and threads through more than a dozen preserves. We’re thrilled to cut this ribbon on a big investment to make this segment even better for an afternoon stroll or an all-day adventure,” said Interim General Superintendent Figel.
This project follows the Village of Rosemont’s 2021 construction of a pedestrian bridge over the Des Plaines River at Bryn Mawr Avenue that connected Rosemont’s entertainment district to the trail system. Up next in the spring of 2025, construction on the segment from Lawrence Avenue to Irving Park Road, in conjunction with the Village of Schiller Park, will include an additional boardwalk and trail rerouting and resurfacing. And planning efforts continue to move the trail to higher and drier land closer to Cumberland Road in the southern section from Irving Park Road to North Avenue.
These investments are a result of a trail evaluation by the Des Plaines River Trail Advisory Group, which convened the Forest Preserves of Cook County and local municipalities and partners to assess the trail and work to implement a possible $70 million in trail improvements from Touhy to North avenues to address issues like flooding, trail reconstruction, safety improvements at roadways and major railroad crossings, and other potential new trail connections.
Also in attendance and speaking at the ribbon cutting were State Representative and Village of Rosemont Mayor Bradley Stephens, Village of Franklin Park Mayor Barrett Pederson, Village of Schiller Park Mayor Nick Caiafa, and Village of River Grove Mayor David Guerin.
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