Supporters of the Kickapoo Rail Trail say they look forward to construction work this summer on the first phase of the trail in Vermilion County. Kevin Green, a board member for the Vermilion County Conservation Foundation, notes it was 1993 when the railroad tracks were removed and the land started being reserved for a future hiking and biking trail….
But Green adds once it is completed it is going to be a jewel for environmental recreation in the county.
Some pre-construction meetings were held Monday at the Oakwood Public Library. The work beginning this summer involves only a 1.8 mile segment from the west edge of Oakwood to near Gray Siding Road. Eventually the trail is scheduled to run from Urbana to Kickapoo State Park northwest of Danville. The City of Danville is reviewing plans for linking the trail from the area near the Vermilion County Fairgrounds into the city.
Green says the trail will bring with it some economic benefits….
Jamie Pasquale, Interim Executive Director of the Vermilion County Conservation District, outlined the expected timetable for the phase one work….
Pasquale says funding for the project has come from several sources, and he adds more funding is needed to finish the trail. In Champaign County towns have already started to benefit from the area where the trail is already completed.
