TREC Completing Phase 3 of Trails Project

Trails Recreation Effingham County (TREC) has been hard at work completing Phase 3 of its trail project. Phase 3 opens up the trail for residents and visitors to walk, run or bicycle from the City of Effingham to the Lake Sara area. This connection has been a long time goal for the TREC board.

TREC is proud to announce the celebration and ribbon cutting of the John & Fran Schultz Bridge on Wednesday, October 8. There will be an open house from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m., with the ribbon cutting at 5:30 p.m. TREC invites the community to see the progress the trail has made. The John and Fran Schultz Trestle Bridge is a beautiful 200-foot long and 30-foot high landmark structure for Phase 3. Light refreshments and snacks will be provided at the Open House. TREC would ask residents to park at the Effingham Performance Center (2.5 miles from Open House) or Kingwood Estates (0.4 miles from Open House). TREC will have attendants at Kingwood Estates – Keply Lane - to help with parking. There will also be shuttle services for those who cannot physically make the walk to the John & Fran Schultz Bridge.

TREC has come a long way from the first phase completion in 2010. The project started out with nearly three miles of recreational trails opened for public use from U.S. Route 40 to West Evergreen Avenue and from that portion of the trail to Nazarene Church Road.

Phase 3 is an approximately two-mile-long trail sponsored and owned by Effingham County. This phase cost $1.3 million to complete; 80% was funded with an Illinois Transportation Enhancement Grant (ITEP) and 20% funded by local donations. TREC is extremely grateful for all the local support. Phase 3 was done in two parts: one part connected the end of Phase 1 at Nazarene Church Road to Hilltop Estates and a parking area and the second part connected the current to switchbacks (handicap accessible) to the John and Fran Trestle Bridge and off to the parking lot of Kingwood Estates.

The TREC Trail provides a beautiful and safe place for families to walk or ride from Effingham to Lake Sara. The TREC Trail is also a great tourism draw. Director of Tourism for the City of Effingham, Jodi Jackson, states, “The TREC Trail is a great asset to have in our community. Residents and visitors alike use the trail on a regular basis and it’s great to be able to promote a beautiful trail for leisure, tour and meeting travelers.” Frank Brummer, chairman of TREC, foresees the trail playing an important part in Effingham’s future. Brummer says, “TREC envisions Effingham as a place college students want to come back to live and work; a place young Effingham families want to move to for an active and high quality way of life.” TREC plans to be an important part of that. They want to be the center of an active and vibrant community. Attracting new residents and continuing to draw tourism into Effingham is a major focus of the TREC trail.

Plans for Phase 4 are already underway. Phase 4 will start at the south east end of Calico trail and go under Outer Belt West and connect to the new I-57 and I-70 bike/pedestrian bridge trail. Phase 4 trail will be a TREC-City project and is in the design and permitting stage. TREC looks forward to future plans and continuing to expand the trail.

For more information on TREC or the ribbon cutting ceremony, visit www.trectrails.com or call 217-342-5305.