SCCTD secures $450K in federal funds for Fairview Heights-Swansea Trail Phase 1
The St. Clair County Transit District (SCCTD) has been awarded $450,000 in federal Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) funds for the develop of Phase 1 of its Fairview Heights-Swansea Trail. This new 0.25-mile connector trail segment will extend from Illinois 161 and Sullivan Drive/Union Hill Road north to the existing MetroBikeLink System of trails.
This is part of a three-phase project in Fairview Heights that, once complete, will combine to create a 4.2-mile bike trail corridor extending from the intersection of Highway 161 and Sullivan Drive/Union Hill Road to Longacre Drive.
The corridor will add to St. Clair County Transit District’s ever-evolving MetroBikeLink System, which currently consists of 39 miles of interconnecting trails and bike paths in St. Clair County that connect to six Metro Transit Centers.
Phase 1 of SCCTD’s Fairview Heights-Swansea Trail will be a separated, 10-foot-wide, paved and shared-use path that runs parallel to Sullivan Drive/Union Hill Road, sits within the County’s highway right-of-way and provides a critical link to the existing sidewalk system. The build out will include ADA push buttons for pedestrians at the traffic signal at Illionis 161.
Phase 2 will include the expansion of the MetroBikeLink to Frank Scott Parkway with Phase 3 connecting from Frank Scott Parkway to Longacre Road. Phases 2 and 3 are funded by Metro East Park and Recreation District grants, with Phase 3 also receiving support from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
“We continue to invest in the expansion of the MetroBikeLink System in an effort to further enhance regional connectivity and allow people to be able to get where they need to go,” commented Ken Sharkey, managing director of the St. Clair County Transit District. “While this trail connection as part of Phase 1 may be a short expansion, it is a critical to linking into the already significant sidewalk system in Belleville.”
To learn more visit www.scctd.org.
Below map provided by St. Clair County Transit District.
About the MetroBikeLink System
The first section of the MetroBikeLink System opened in 2002 and was comprised of a four-mile trail, extending from Southwestern Illinois College to the Belleville Transit Center. Since then, this section has expanded into what is known today as the 14-mile MetroBikeLink Trail, which serves as the main artery of the MetroBikeLink System. The trail runs adjacent to the MetroLink alignment from the Shiloh-Scott Transit Center to the Fairview Heights Transit Center, linking residents to six Metro Transit Centers in four different communities and offering seamless integration of biking and transit use via the MetroLink, MetroBus and microtransit service options like the SCCTD Flyer. Over the years, additional trails have been built by SCCTD, including the 4.7-mile SCCTD Orchard Loop Trail, 1.3-mile Engelmann Park Connector, 1-mile St. Ellen Park Trail and 3.5-mile Old Collinsville Road Trail. Several other trails are currently under design or construction – including the 5.2-mile SCCTD MetroBikeLink Trail from the Shiloh-Scott Metro Transit Center to MidAmerica St. Louis Airport and the 0.75-mile Liberty Heights Trail set to open this fall. These pathways – along with the connecting trails from other municipalities – combine to provide over 39 miles of connected trails throughout St. Clair County.
About St. Clair County Transit District
Founded in 1981, St. Clair County Transit District oversees 11 MetroLink stations and 14 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.
