Village of Channahon employees and trustees gathered with local elected officials Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the official opening of the I&M Canal Gateway at 25450 W. Eames St.

Village President Missey Moorman Schumacher said the improvements to the canal’s surroundings in the village are particularly exciting for her.

“The I&M Canal Trail is my home,” Moorman Schumacher said. “I have spent my whole life along this trail. A mile one way is mile childhood home, and a half a mile that way is where I currently live.”

Moorman Schumacher even made sure she walked to the ribbon cutting.

The project, which was funded by diesel taxes collected from gas stations in the village, now has bike racks, water fountains, a water bottle-filling station, and a pavilion with extra seating to go along with a freshly repaved portion of the walking and biking trail.

“I’ve said 100 times that I want to build bike paths and connect everything so you can go from one end of Channahon to the other at all points without ever getting into a vehicle,” Moorman Schumacher said. “This is a huge step in that direction.”

Moorman Schumacher also pointed out that the village sign at the trailhead has purple coneflowers, the village’s official flower. Just beyond that is a pad that Moorman Schumacher said will be for an art installation.

She said the village created an Arts and Culture Commission last fall, which is having its first fundraiser at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24 at the Four Rivers Environmental Education Center, 25055 S. Walnut Lane.