Three New Sections of the Pennsy Trail In Progress
Three separate sections of the Pennsy Trail - in Indianapolis, Cumberland and Greenfield - have been under development this summer, all of them segments of the 150-mile cross-state National Road Heritage Trail being planned between Richmond and Terre Haute.
- Indianapolis, East Side- A 1.2 mile segment is being built between Arlington Ave. and Shortridge Rd. and should be completed by fall. A short diversion through the Irvington area, through Ellenberger Park via a multi-use path on Ritter Avenue, will connect the west end of the Pennsy to the east end of the existing Pleasant Run Trail. Sections of the trail east of Shortridge, which will eventually connect with the Cumberland section, are awaiting funding.
- Cumberland - The town received $2.6 million in federal stimulus funds in April to complete its 3-mile segment of the Pennsy between German Church Road and Hancock County Road 600W. Construction is expected to begin this fall.
- Greenfield - A 2.7 mile extension west of the city is nearing completion and is already being enjoyed by local residents. The new segment brings the total length in Greenfield to 5.3 miles.
Pumpkinvine Trail Extension Opens
Another 3.4 miles of the Pumpkinvine Nature Trail is paved and open in Elkhart County, extending the northwest endpoint of the trail to just outside of the town of Middlebury. The route of the new segment, which follows farm perimeters and county roads in addition to the former railbed, opened on National Trails Day, June 6th.
The Pumpkinvine Trail
Goshen's Maple City Greenway, a network of city trails that includes the Pumpkinvine, will eventually extend westward to meet with the existing trail alongside County Road 45. The CR45 path, also known as the MapleHart Trail, runs for 4 miles to the southeast edge of downtown Elkhart. When this regional plan is completed, there will be roughly 25 miles of trail connecting Elkhart, Goshen, Middlebury and Shipshewana.
Introducing Indiana's First Interstate Trail: The Union City Gateway Trail
On June 19th, the Union City Gateway trail linking the cities of Union City, Indiana and Union City, Ohio was dedicated and became Indiana's first official interstate multiuse trail. The project is intended to link the Indiana and Ohio sides of the town. While the Union City Gateway is only one mile in length and runs from the Railroad Park Trail in Ohio to Harter Park in Indiana, it is important because it is the first trail connection between the two states.
Long-term trail plans show the trail connecting westward through Randolph County to the Cardinal Greenway at Muncie. In Ohio, plans are being made to connect Union City East to Greenville (Darke County Parks District), Bradford, Covington and Piqua (Miami County Trails Task Force) and extending to Urbana (Champaign County) Simon Kenton Pathfinders. In Piqua, what has begun to be called the Ohio-To-Indiana Trail, will connect with the existing trail system, and the Great Miami River Recreation Trail that, when complete, will run South from Sidney in Shelby County over 90 miles through Piqua, Troy, Tipp City, Dayton, Franklin, Middleton and Hamilton.
Please see the Miami Valley Trails website for more information.
~Thomas J. Recktenwalt, Miami Valley RailTrails
Cardinal Greenway Approaches 50 Miles
The 2.5-mile Cardinal Greenway in Richmond and the 27-mile main
segment of the Cardinal Greenway in Muncie and Losantville will be nearly connected
by the end of the year, bridging the 20-mile gap and forming a 50-mile contiguous
trail. All except 10 miles of the entire stretch will be paved, but the
layer of stone to be laid will be replaced by asphalt in a future project. New
trailheads will also be installed with the final paving project.
By the end of 2009, a new 10-miles of asphalt should be completed
between Richmond and the town of Webster, in north Wayne County, and the 10
miles between Losantville and Webster will be passable but unpaved.
Volunteers are being sought to help maintain the new sections. Please
visit the Cardinal
Greenways website to learn more.
Bloomington B-Line Trail Opens First Phase
The B-Line Trail
The city of Bloomington has opened the first phase of its urban B-line Trail, a 0.6 mile stretch located just west of City Hall and adjacent to the Bloomington Community Farmers' Market, extending from Rogers Street south to Second Street. Phase I of the trail includes a diamond-shaped bridge over Third Street near the Convention Center. Construction of Phase II is anticipated to begin in spring 2010, and will involve the east side of Adams Street to the west side of Rogers Street, and from Second Street south to the north side of Country Club Drive. This will make the connection with Bloomington's other open rail-trails.
South Bend Riverside Trail Extension Nears Completion
Riverside Trail
Construction crews have nearly completed work on the final phase of South Bend's Riverside Trail this summer. The new 1.63-mile
segment will bring the total length of the trail, which has already won tremendous
popularity among residents, to 3.2 miles.
In Phase 2, the trail will continue north from Woodland Park
in a section that is lower than the street, separated by a retention wall. A
crosswalk will connect the trail with Pinhook Park, and an overlook is planned
just south of the park. The trail will continue along Riverside Drive,
rather than the river, because of the Wastewater Treatment Plant. After
passing under the Indiana Toll Road and crossing Cleveland Road, Riverside Trail
will have another overlook north of Cleveland, before connecting with the boat
launch and the Old Darden Road bridge, an historic iron truss structure.
The City of South Bend’s commitment to a dedicated walking
and bicycle trails along the St. Joseph River began in the 1970s. Completion
of the entire Riverside Trail segment will bring the total trail system to more
than 11 miles in length. The Riverside Trail represents a portion of an
emerging South Bend bicycle network, which includes more than 88 miles of proposed
bicycle lanes, routes and multipurpose paths. For more information, visit
the city’s web site.
Northwest Indiana Trail News Bytes
Reconnecting the Lakeshore
A critical gap is being examined in the ongoing planning activity for the Marquette Greenway trail network, a conceptual greenway spanning three states and over 50 miles along the southern rim of Lake Michigan. In the latter half of 2008, a group of stakeholders came together to help plan a route to link the long-disconnected east and west halves of the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. This gap is approximately 9 miles long, and incorporates number of landholdings, both public and private. In addition, there are several state highways, two major railroads and a winding river which makes the route unique in scope. NIRPC, along with the communities of Burns Harbor, Porter, Portage and Ogden Dunes, as well as Holladay Properties, Arcelor-Mittal Steel and the National Lakeshore, have come together to scope out the best central trail route, including several "spur" routes to places of interest and population centers.
Aiding in the planning is funding through the Burnham Plan Centennial Committee, whose charge is to set in motion a series of initiatives, both planning and project specific, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Daniel's Burnham's landmark 1909 Plan of Chicago. The Centennial Committee instantly recognized this Indiana-based initiative as essential towards expanding Burnham's regional vision. The plan is scheduled to be complete by May of 2009, with immediate work to commence on securing funding for this critical link.
Introducing the Dunes-Kankakee Trail
In Governor Daniel's Indiana State Trails Plan of 2006, a "Visionary" trail along State Route 49 was identified which would cut through central Porter County north to the Indiana Dunes State Park. With the help of Lorelei Weimer from the Porter County Recreation, Convention and Visitor's Commission, a number of municipal interests, as well as the DNR and National Lakeshore, have been actively planning a trail to connect the Dunes State Park to the Kankakee River on the southern end of the county. Dubbed the "Dunes-Kankakee Trail", this system will be developed in three distinct phases, with the first 12-mile segment to run south to Valparaiso. A plan to coordinate the trail's development is scheduled to be released by the Commission this spring.
Oak Savannah Trail Construction
In 2009, the Lake County Parks Department will commence work on two projects along the Oak-Savannah Trail. The first will involve a tunnel under State Route 53, or Broadway, in Gary. The second will extend the trail one half mile east, into the City of Hobart. Both projects are scheduled to be complete by the fall of 2009.
Indiana's First Interstate Trail
The long awaited connection into Illinois from Munster along the Pennsy Greenway Northwest will commence construction this summer, and should be completed by fall. The half-mile length will meet up with the existing three-mile segment in Lansing, Illinois. Eventually, this route will lead directly north, all via trail, to the Chicago Lakefront Trail.
C&O Trail Comes to Life
In Merrillville, work is to commence this year on the first segment of the C&O Trail from State Route 55 east to SR 53. This essential phase should be complete by fall.
Whiting-Hammond Link
The City of Whiting is expected to use newly appropriated Regional Development Authority funding to complete a link from the George Lake Trail in Hammond to their lakefront park, and eventually into an existing trail system at Whihala Park. Eventually, this link will lead into south Chicago at Calumet Park as part of the Marquette Greenway network. Work is scheduled to commence in 2009.
St. John Trail to Open - Finally!
The Town of St. John will formally open their two-mile local trail this year, which connects a large number of residents to a major parks facility.
Prairie-Duneland Trail to Re-open
INDOT is scheduled to re-open the Prairie-Duneland Trail at US 6 in Portage in the summer of 2009 as they complete a long-awaited tunnel at this location.
Stimulus Bill to Infuse $10 Million Into Indiana Trails
The 2009 Federal stimulus package promises to effectively
double the average allotment of federal transportation funds for trail
projects in Indiana this year. Indiana's total share of funding
for transportation is set at approximately $657 million, three percent
of which the bill calls to be used toward Transporation Enhancement
(TE) projects. Generally about half of TE projects are trail
oriented, which will result in approximately $10 million of the stimulus
going toward trails.
Indiana also receives federal funds annually from
the transportation bill, a package drawn up by Congress and renewed
every 6 years. TE funds from this bill have held steady at 10%
of the total allotment, or about $10 million annually in recent years
toward trail projects in Indiana.
The exact projects toward which the stimulus funding
is directed are not yet known, although they will be decided at the
state level, most likely by INDOT. All projects are assumed
to be ready for immediate construction, which for trails implies that
all land acquisition and design details have been completed.
