A bike trail and bridge over Interstate 64 in Fairview Heights will get the boost of a $3 million state grant, helping transit leaders connect the Metro East community to the St. Clair County’s 39-mile bike trail network.
The St. Clair County Transit District recently received the grant through an Illinois Department of Transportation program meant to support “smaller scale, but critically important projects that provide and support connected alternate modes of transportation.”
“Without the grant, that trail wouldn't be done,” said Ken Sharkey, managing director of the St. Clair County Transit District. “It's just too cost prohibitive for us to be able to take on that all on our own, with our own resources. So, when you get a grant like that, it just really makes the project viable.”
The 10-foot-wide bike path that will span nearly one mile over the interstate will run from near Fairview Heights’ city hall, police department and fire station on the south side to the recreation and fitness center on the north side. The path will be called the Bunkum Road Trail.
“The ability to soon offer a direct connection to the MetroBikeLink System by way of the new Bunkum Road Trail is a huge win for the community,” Fairview Heights Mayor Mark Kupsky said in a statement. “And we look forward to working with the St. Clair County Transit District to make this vision a reality.”
Sharkey said the transit district is still finalizing total costs of the new trail and bridge, but he expects the $3 million grant won’t cover the entire project. Construction is expected to begin next spring, and it’s anticipated to take at least three years to complete, Sharkey said.
The recreation center, called the REC Complex of Fairview Heights, has been a popular addition for the Metro East community since it was first constructed in 2020. Currently, the city is considering expanding the facility.
City and elected leaders believe this new bike path’s location will serve the community well.
“We do believe that it creates an increase in [home] values as well, because it's another amenity that other communities may not have,” said Sharkey, who also represents a portion of Fairview Heights on the St. Clair County Board. “People want to live next to an amenity like that. Whether they use it or not, they still like to have it close by.”
There’s a number of other projects underway, including one just south that will join Fairview Heights and Swansea to the main 14-mile spine of the St. Clair County Transit District’s bike trail network that runs adjacent to MetroLink.
This development comes just a couple of months after the St. Clair County Transit District completed the construction of a $4.3 million trail and bridge over Illinois 161 in Belleville.
