GODFREY - The Village of Godfrey’s F.E. Widman Trail is nearing completion.
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The new paved walking/biking path will connect Glazebrook Park to LaVista Park in Godfrey. Village Engineer Richard Beran said that construction has gone smoothly and they are excited to officially open the trail in a few weeks.
“It’s been slow but steady,” he said. “All the major work is done now.”
Beran said there have been “a few hiccups” with erosion control because Godfrey experienced “all that rain” a few weeks ago, which eroded a few areas on the trail. There was also a delay as they waited for a box culvert to be shipped.
But he said that once the erosion is fixed, the trail should be nearly completed. He looks forward to sharing the trail with Riverbend residents.
“Once they fix that, all we have left to do is put in the solar-powered flashing beacons at Delmar and then to stripe the crosswalk and the rest of the trail,” he said. “It should be done. We’re hoping it’ll be finished in a few weeks.”
The F.E. Widman Trail will make it easier for people to travel from Stamper Lane to Godfrey’s Sam M. Vadalabene Bike Trail on the Great River Road, linking the parks to the MCT Trails system in the region. It will be possible to travel from Lewis and Clark Community College to SIUE on the trails once the F.E. Widman Trail is complete.
The project’s primary contractor was Stutz Excavating, Inc. The final project was estimated to cost around $1,225,960.55. Approximately 46% of this funding came from grants from the Metro East Park and Recreation District, Madison County Transit Trails System, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and Madison County Park Enhancement Program.
Though the trail is not officially open to the public, Beran said a few people have been enjoying it already. He expects to plan a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the trail’s official opening in a few weeks.
“It’s not technically open to the public right now, but even some of the staff around here and our contractor and construction engineers are going out there to check on things,” he said. “There’s people already using the trail, and they’re loving it. So it’d be nice to get it open sooner, to get everything squared away and safe for the public, but it’s officially not yet open…We’re thinking two to three weeks depending on when the subcontractors can get out there to stripe and then install those pedestrian signals.”
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