A TIMELINE OF PROGRESS

1992    Bill Brown of Utica, Illinois approaches Carus Corporation of Peru, Illinois with the idea of using a portion of the company’s property to form a long connecting snowmobile loop that will bridge the two state canal trails. Blouke Carus deputizes Todd Volker to explore the possibility.

 

1993    Volker proposes using the railbed of the Rock Island corridor as a rail-with-trail. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources joins the effort and assists in determining trail potentials. Local elected officials support the canal trail connection concept.

 

1994    The Illinois Conservation Congress votes that the canal trail connection is a high priority project for the Illinois Department of Natural  Resources.

 

1995    Blouke Carus and Todd Volker form the Kaskaskia Group, a group of rail and trail leaders advocating for the creation of the canal trail connector, terming it the “Kaskaskia Alliance Trail.”

 

1996    The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Chicago office joins this effort by organizing a tour of the canal routing across Illinois.

 

2004    Congressmen Jerry Weller and Ray LaHood jointly fund a preliminary trail study. The IDNR does not complete this study until 2008 and the study did not interpret the rail-with-trail route because corridor ownership at the time was unresponsive to IDNR inquiry.

 

2008    The La Salle County Trails and Greenways Council rejects the IDNR study due to the higher costs and greater difficulties of its proposed route. The Bureau County board calls for a rail-with-trail routing for the connection. The Heritage Corridor Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Starved Rock Cycle Club endorse a rail-with-trail routing. The Canal Corridor Association places the canal trail connector as a part of its long-term plan for canal management.

 

2008    Todd Volker initiates discussion with rail corridor ownership and rail corridor users. The rail-with-trail appears viable and cost-effective. He maintains communications with relevant trail organizations and tours the corridor with trail engineers and rail experts.

 

2010    IDNR Director Marc Miller attempts to negotiate corridor use but receives no response from property ownership.

 

2016    Through Todd Volker’s efforts, rail corridor ownership contacts IDNR and the ownership notifies the IDNR that it is receptive to negotiating a rail-with-trail project.

 

2021    The Great American Rail-Trail is proposed by the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. This 3,700-mile cross-country trail will run from Washington, D.C. to Washington state.

 

2022    Rails-to-Trails Conservancy staff contact Todd Volker and join in the local effort to create the canal trail connector, convening a major meeting to discuss the trail project in conjunction with Inga Carus and Carus Corporation. Ray LaHood, previously congressman for a portion of the trail region and one-time U.S. Secretary of Transportation, spurs forward the project.

 

2023    Marquis Energy of Hennepin, Illinois provides grant funding for a trail feasibility study. The trail feasibility study uses contemporary planning expertise and shows the feasibility of a canal trail connector.

 

2023    The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy hosts trail ride across the canal routing. A special community event outlines the canal trail connector idea, with guest speakers Illinois Department of Transportation Director Omer Osman and Ray LaHood.

 

2024    Canal Trail Connector, Inc. is formed. CTC is a nonprofit organization with a local board, with Bob Eschbach and Jay McCracken as the entity’s co-chairmen. The mission of CTC is to develop the trail connection between the two major state canal trails, recognizing its value to regional economic development and the enhancement of the Illinois Valley’s natural environment.