The St Clair County Transit District approved TWM, Inc. for the design and construction of the St. Ellen Park Trail at its March 16 Board of Trustees meeting. The trail project will consist of an approximately one-mile long and 10-foot wide paved path from Old Collinsville Road to St. Ellen Park, which is a formerly abandoned coal strip mine that has been transformed into a 200-acre St. Clair County Park featuring walking trails, fishing and picnic pavilions.
The St. Ellen Park Trail will connect Hartman Lane in O’ Fallon to Old Collinsville Road in Fairview Heights, and eventually connect with the Old Collinsville Road bike trail system currently under design by TWM, Inc. It will provide greater access to St. Ellen Park, Joseph Arthur Middle School and hundreds of nearby households. This project is a result of a partnership with Caseyville Township officials, who provided the no-cost, right-a-way easement necessary for St. Clair County Transit District to construct the trail.
“This new trail meets the needs of connecting parks, schools and residential neighborhoods,” commented Ken Sharkey, the Managing Director for the St. Clair County Transit District. “We are thankful for the local officials at Caseyville Township for their willingness to work with us to provide this type of quality of life amenity.”
The first section of the MetroBikeLink System opened in 2002 and was comprised of a four-mile trail, running from Southwestern Illinois College to the Belleville MetroLink Station. Since then, the system has expanded to include the Swansea MetroLink Section, Memorial Section, Fairview Heights sections, Orchard Loop Trail Phases I and II and the Shiloh Scott sections, Englemann Park Connector – which all connect back to the original trail. Currently, the 15-mile long MetroBikeLink System runs from the Shiloh-Scott Metro Station to the Fairview Heights Metro Station, providing access to six MetroLink stations and four different communities. Phases I and II of the Old Collinsville Road Trail, featuring approximately 1.7 miles of trail, are expected to be opened in 2022. Phase III will be completed in 2023. The St. Ellen Park Trail will be completed in 2021.
To learn more about the MetroBikeLink System and St. Clair County Transit District, visit www.scctd.org.
About St. Clair County Transit District
Founded in 1981, St. Clair County Transit District oversees 11 MetroLink stations and 18 bus routes in St. Clair County, Ill. If commuters have questions about service, they can call (618) 628-8090 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, visit www.scctd.org.