Dixon moving forward with bike path expansion project

Council approves using infrastructure, recovery funding

DIXON – The Dixon City Council recently approved more than $3 million in funding to go toward expanding the city bike path.

The project is to extend the bike path 1.6 miles, stretching east on River Road toward Raynor Garage Doors and west along the river with a ramp to the viaducts running to Seventh Street.

The city won a $2 million Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program grant in 2016 for the project, which was estimated to cost about $2.7 million at the time. Officials held off on the work to settle years of environmental remediation needed at the former Dixon Iron and Metal scrap yard in order to open up a piece of pathway along the river.

In 2021, the city landed another ITEP grant for about $1.5 million and applied for the grant again in September, hoping to get $2 million more as project costs are estimated to total about $7 million.

Last week, the council approved authorizing about $1.35 million in infrastructure dollars for the project, as well as up to $2 million in Rita Crundwell recovery funds.

The viaducts would be landscaped, there would be a curved boardwalk leading up to them,and the path would include lighting and other features.

The project recently was put out to bid through the Illinois Department of Transportation.

The goal of the project is not only improving recreational traffic but also opening a trail for those who walk or bike to work. An overall goal is to keep extending the trail south to the industrial park and commercial corridors.

The project is the third phase in the city’s riverfront master plan and it will lead into the fourth phase, for which Dixon won a $12 million federal transportation grant to build a pedestrian bridge across the Rock River and add more trail.

The city received the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity or RAISE program grant last year after several years of applying.

The project includes constructing a pedestrian bridge on the old Illinois Central Railroad piers, adding 2.8 miles of multiuse path, doing new sidewalks and crossings and resurfacing Page Drive, which is maintained by the Dixon Park District.

There will be new trails and pathways in the wooded area of Page Park commonly used for the Reagan Run, a new pedestrian pathway to the baseball fields and tennis courts, as well as improvements to Page Drive, the baseball field, parking and the boat docks.

Rachel Rodgers

Rachel Rodgers

Rachel Rodgers joined Sauk Valley Media in 2016 covering local government in Dixon and Lee County.