Ogden, IL – The Champaign County Forest Preserve District is poised to construct 1.5 miles of the Kickapoo Rail Trail (KRT) through the Village of Ogden. Construction begins this month and will be complete by the fall.
This new section of trail will serve the residents and visitors of Ogden as both a transportation and recreational amenity and bring us one step closer to connecting neighboring communities through the KRT. The new trail will provide a safe, off-street option for people of all ages and abilities to walk, wheel, skate, scoot, or bike through Ogden between County Roads 2650E and 2800E. Similar to the trail section in St. Joseph, the trail surface will be asphalt through town and crushed gravel as it moves out of town toward the county line.
There are currently 6.7 miles of trail complete from Urbana to St. Joseph and an additional 3 miles of trail between Oakwood and Kickapoo State Park. Upon completion of the entire trail, the KRT will span 24.5 miles and connect communities in Champaign and Vermilion Counties.
“We are thrilled to start construction of this next phase of the KRT and bring a part of the trail network to the residents of Ogden. After this section is complete, we will work with our partners to build the remaining sections of the KRT. In Champaign County, those next sections of trail will connect St. Joseph to Ogden and extend the current end of the trail in Urbana to connect to Weaver Park,” said Lorrie Pearson, Executive Director.
Funding for this section of the trail is supported by a $949,430 grant from the Illinois Department of Transportation’s Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program (ITEP) and $118,678.75 in State of Illinois grant match. Any remaining costs will be provided by Champaign County Forest Preserve District and the Forest Preserve Friends Foundation.
Construction updates will be posted online at onekrt.org and on the Kickapoo Rail Trail Facebook and Instagram pages.
