Ribbon Cutting Planned For Veterans Memorial Trail Extension

HOMER GLEN-LOCKPORT, IL — The Forest Preserve District will host a public ribbon cutting ceremony for a new 3.5-mile section of Veterans Memorial Trail in Homer Township on Oct. 28, according to a release from the preserve.

The ceremony will take place at 10 a.m. Oct. 28, at the 167th Street pedestrian tunnel in Lockport. Attendees should park at the Spring Creek Toll Plaza located off Prime Boulevard. Once on Prime, turn west at the toll plaza entrance road just north of Bo Jackson’s Elite Sports. A shuttle will transport guests to the ribbon cutting.

After the ribbon cutting, the trail will be officially open for public use, the preserve said.

The trail, which also includes a pedestrian tunnel under Bruce Road, grew out of plans for construction of the Veterans Memorial Tollway (Interstate 355), which provides a 15- to 20-foot-wide corridor for portions of the path, according to the preserve.

"The new path segment is a critical link in a collaborative effort by the Forest Preserve and its partners to build out Will County's regional trail system," Ralph Schultz, the District's executive director, said in a release. "Connections like these offer true non-motorized alternatives that clean our air and offer healthy options for travel between our homes, businesses and natural areas."

The new extension travels north from the Spring Creek Greenway Trail in Hadley Valley Preserve to a state-owned trail along 159th Street that links to a trail system in and around Orland Park’s Centennial Park in Cook County, the preserve said.

Work on the new segment began last year and was paid for, in part, with a $5.3 million federally-funded Transportation Alternatives Program grant allocated in 2019 by the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, the preserve said. Engineering for the project was funded by $815,000 from the federal Transportation, Community, and Systems Preservation program.

The City of Lockport also contributed $575,000 for trail construction.

In the future, Veterans Memorial Trail will be extended north from 159th Street to an existing section of Veterans Memorial Trail in DuPage Township, the preserve said. That section of trail travels 3.26 miles east from 135th Street in Romeoville to I-355. From I-355, the path travels north 1.47 miles to Internationale Parkway in Woodridge.

Eventually, the new trail section in Homer Township will also be extended south to Route 6 in New Lenox.

"We look forward to working with others to continue to expand the Veterans Memorial Trail in the future and provide additional opportunities and connections within our communities," Schultz said in a release.