JOLIET – The Forest Preserve District of Will County Board of Commissioners approved agreements Thursday that eventually will connect popular trails in both Will and DuPage counties.

Agreements between the district and its counterpart in DuPage County, as well as Elmhurst Chicago Stone, will allow for the construction of a 10-foot-wide, 1.25-mile limestone trail that connects Will County’s Whalon Lake Forest Preserve on the Naperville-Bolingbrook border to Greene Valley Forest Preserve just north in DuPage County.

Two high-traffic sections of the DuPage River Trail will be joined together, allowing residents from neighborhoods along the DuPage-Will border to more easily travel across county lines via foot or bike to both preserves.

"It's an opportunity for us to connect two significant county forest preserves – one in DuPage and one in Will –
and make a major connection for
the DuPage River Trail," said Ralph Schultz, chief operations officer for
the forest preserve.

The project has been a long time coming. The district acquired the quarry that is now Whalon Lake in 1993 and maintained a relationship with Elmhurst Chicago Stone over the years with the understanding that the company would build a flood diversion channel on forest preserve property and a trail connection on company property, Schultz said.

After Elmhurst Chicago Stone’s business slowed during the recession, a legal agreement with the district expired in 2013, according to Schultz. The company contacted the district in late 2015, interested in a new agreement to complete work on the diversion channel.

The trail connection will be adjacent to Royce Road and Greene Road

The estimated cost of construction for Elmhurst Chicago Stone for the trail connection, along with a bridge and trail realignment at Whalon Lake, is approximately $1,083,800.

Schultz said the flood diversion channel would bring water from the DuPage River – during heavy rains – into Whalon Lake, which would act as a reservoir. After the flood risk subsides, some water from Whalon Lake would be diverted back to the river.

Elmhurst Chicago Stone is responsible for permits associated with the projects. The Forest Preserve District of Will County is contributing about $350,000 to the trail project. It also granted the company a 99-year license and will waive $542,757 in licensing fees.

Per the agreement, the trail has to be completed within five years for the district to contribute funding.