St. Clair County Transit District Secures $450,000 in Federal Funds for Phase 1 of the Fairview Heights-Swansea Trail

The St. Clair County Transit District (SCCTD) today announced it 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.”