MCT Yellowhammer Connector Trail Opens in Edwardsville

EDWARDSVILLE - The MCT Yellowhammer Connector trail is officially open in Edwardsville.

The trail connects the Delyte Morris Trail and MCT Goshen Trail. It also helps connect SIUE’s campus to the Madison County Transit (MCT) trail system. Construction began in November 2023, and the completed 2,400-feet-long trail includes a 200-foot-long bowstring truss concrete deck bridge over the Delaplain Branch creek valley.

“This is just the next phase in our multiyear, multimillion-dollar effort to expand and enhance the MCT trails and to make Madison County one of the most bikeable, walkable places in the Midwest,” said S.J. Morrison, the managing director of MCT.

The trail was built with a $2.9 million “Re-Build Illinois” grant from the State of Illinois. State Representative Katie Stuart noted that the program is a great way for communities to get the funding they need to support their residents and tourists.

“This is why I was so proud to vote for the ‘Re-Build Illinois’ program,” she said. “This is what it’s all about. This connector is just another piece of the puzzle of connecting the university, which is a gem of our region, to the trails, which are a gem of our region, connecting the university to the town and to everything else that we have to offer, making it bikeable, walkable, accessible for everybody.”

Ron Jedda, the MCT board chairman, said he believes the MCT trails are “one of the best trail systems in the whole United States.” He thanked Jerry Kane, founder and architect of the MCT trails, for his work.

Jedda and Stuart both noted that the trails are a resource for residents, but the trail system also brings in tourists and people from outside the region to utilize the trails.

“It’s an economic development tool,” Jedda said. “People come in from different areas throughout the region, from outside the state, and they come here, they’ll stay overnight, they’ll ride these bike trails, they’ll buy gas, they’ll eat at our restaurants. It’s a great economic development tool.”

Morrison thanked project design engineer Oates Associates and contractor Keller Construction Co., as well as the Illinois Department of Transportation and SIUE. He noted that the university was “a fantastic partner” throughout the process of designing and constructing the trail. SIUE granted an easement to build a portion of the trail and donated 4.86 acres of their property to MCT.

Morrison also explained the origins of the name “MCT Yellowhammer Connector.” He said the trail is partially constructed on a former streetcar corridor between Edwardsville and Mitchell. The streetcar was called “Yellowhammer” because the yellow train cars made a sound similar to a yellowhammer woodpecker.

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