This project will complete the center portion of the crab orchard greenway a continuous regional multimodal trail along the illinois route 13 IL 13 corridor between the cities of marion and carbondale…

This project will complete the center portion of the crab orchard greenway a continuous regional multimodal trail along the illinois route 13 IL 13 corridor between the cities of marion and carbondale in williamson county. The funding will complete approximately 6 miles of paved trail within the crab orchard national wildlife refuge connecting to existing trail segments that begin in carbondale west of the refuge and in marion east of the refuge. This project will also include an underpass structure of IL route 148 and a bridge over pigeon creek. This grant will also fund the design and construction engineering for the trail and associated structures. The overall crab orchard greenway trail extends for 20 miles between the cities of marion and carbondale and includes 14 miles of trail within the refuge. The trail will provide recreation and alternative transportation opportunities to several adjacent communities including marion herrin crainville carterville and carbondale in williamson and jackson counties. The trail will directly connect these communities to crab orchard national wildlife refuge where the more than 1,000,000 annual visitors come to bike hike camp fish hunt view wildlife and much more. The trail will be a major attraction for the region as well as a convenient resource for exercise and recreation for all the communities along the IL 13 corridor.