SCCTD Board Approves Contract for Construction of Liberty Heights Trail

The St. Clair County Transit District (SCCTD) Board of Trustees approved a contract at its September 17 Board Meeting for construction of the Liberty Heights Trail in Fairview Heights.

The board approved a contract not to exceed $1,249,083 for Stutz Excavating to construct the ¾ mile trail which will be situated on the former historic electric trolley train right-of-way that served St.  Louis via the Eads Bridge.   In addition, SCCTD and Caseyville Township partnered together with a Memorandum of Understanding to utilize a portion of Caseyville right-of-way for this trail extension. Construction is set to begin by end of year with an opening in Spring/Summer 2025.

This trail will be the first section of a larger trail corridor, made up of multiple trail segments.  The overall plan is to connect the Fairview Heights REC Center to SCCTD MetroBikeLink Trail System.  The Liberty Heights Trail will connect to the funded Fairview Heights Safe Route to School trail connecting South Bountiful Heights neighborhood to Grant School.  SCCTD previously was awarded a IDOT TAP Grant to connect to Grant School with a trail including a crossing on Lincoln Highway (Route 50) to Emma Lane along Bunkum Road.  The Liberty Heights Trail along with the two above mentioned trails will provide healthy recreational opportunities and safer travel to Grant School and across Lincoln Trail Highway.

The St. Clair County Transit District’s MetroBikeLink System consists of more than 30 miles of interconnecting trails and bike paths in Southwestern Illinois.  The main artery of this ever-evolving system is the MetroBikeLink – a trail running adjacent to the MetroLink alignment, starting at the Shiloh-Scott Transit Center and extending 14 miles to the Fairview Heights Transit Center. This trail links residents to a total of six Metro Transit Centers in four different communities, offering seamless integration of biking and transit use via the MetroLink and MetroBus, as well as microtransit options like the SCCTD Flyer and VanGo.

The trails are made possible through SCCTD, public funding and partnerships with local stakeholders and organizations, including the Metro East Park and Recreation District. The organization has assisted with nearly every constructed trail.