MCT Trail Set To Open Soon; Troy Moves To Expand Network
By Steve Rensberry, Editor
Walker, bikers, and others who make use of the Madison County Transit trails and local municipal trails in the Metro East will have additional options in the very near future.
Madison County Transit announced last week that it will soon be opening the new trail between Troy and O’Fallon, while asking for patience until it is fully completed.
“Due to the record amount of rainfall this summer the project has faced significant delays,” MCT officials stated in an announcement on social media. “Tentatively, the trail is scheduled to be completed sometime in October.”
The trail is presently considered an active construction site, they said, and asked that people stay off the path for safety reasons.
In other developments, aldermen on the Troy City Council also approved a $129,900 engineering agreement with Oates Associates for a pedestrian and multi-use path project that will extend the existing trail that runs from the MCT Park and Ride Lot at North Main Street and U.S. 40, north on Spring Valley Road to Collinsville Road, west to the north boundary of Tri-Township Park where it will follow part of an existing trail in the park and exit at IL Rt. 162 before reaching the downtown area.
Money for the engineering work and project will come mostly from Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district funds and grants. Portions of the project can be reduced if grant money turns out to be insufficient, officials said.
Troy City Engineer Tom Cissell gave a detailed presentation of the trail plan at the Finance and Economic Development Committee meeting prior to the regular city council meeting on Sept. 16.
A letter from Oates Associates Inc. Project Manager Philip Jones was included in the proposal and states: “Our basic service will consist of providing survey, design, construction documents, bid assistance, and construction administration,” the letter states. “The design will include several street crossings, ADA curb ramps, and a connection to the proposed splash bad. As part of the survey, we will also establish public property boundaries available for use as a right-of-way and determine where/if additional easements are required.”
Work on the Troy trail expansion can be done in phases, Cissell said, and will involve considerable work coordinating with utility companies and in surveying the property, with bid documents prepared and ready possibly by April 2020.
