City of Highland to receive new bike trail thanks to Madison County Transit
A $34 million multi-year development project by Madison County Transit will bring a new bike trail to Highland, among other projects.
Madison County Transit has dedicated $34 million to trail projects in 18 communities in Madison County, adding more than 20 miles of new trails, two new tunnels and seven new bridges.
“It’s our belief that these improvements will have a transformative impact on the residents and communities of Madison County,” said MCT Managing Director SJ Morrison. “If there was any question about whether Madison County was the ‘bike trail hub of the Midwest,’ this should remove any doubts.
Among the projects: MCT has committed $6.5 million for an extension of the MCT Silver Creek Trail from Troy to St. Jacob to Highland, as well as a trail bridge over US 40 to connect Troy into the system.
Mayor Kevin Hemann said he and the mayors of Troy and St. Jacob met with contractor Oates & Associations and all were pleased with the proposals.
“It’ll be exciting for Highland to be connected to that trail network,” said City Manager Chris Conrad.
Other trail projects include a shared-use path in downtown Alton; a bridge at Schoolhouse Trail in Maryville at Pleasant Ridge Road; at least $10.5 million in projects throughout southwest Madison County; and $500,000 for an Arts in Transit and Arts on the Trails initiative throughout the region.
MCT will also commission a study to determine the best alignment for extending the MCT Trails from the campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville to the MCT Confluence Trail along the river.
Renovations and improvements also are planned for the Granite City Station, as well as $4.2 million for a new transfer station in the Illinois 111 corridor to serve the warehouse district, $2.8 million for a park and ride lot in Collinsville, and $3 million for a new computer aided dispatch system.
Morrison said MCT is also moving to smaller shuttle-sized light-duty vehicles in place of larger buses.
“We have an MCT board that is action-oriented and a team of ACT staff that is passionate about making an impact on our communities,” Morrison said. “We look forward to working to make the already great communities of Madison County, Illinois, even better places to live, work and visit.”
