TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Vigo County and the city of Terre Haute have received nearly two million dollars in grant funding from the State’s Next level Trails program.
The grant funding of $1,946,901 will be used to continue the Riley Trail project.
“I am thrilled we received funding from the state to move this project forward,” stated Commissioner Morris. “We have big dreams and plans for trails in our community, and receiving these important funds will help us move faster. We couldn’t do this without a collaborative approach, including funding from our own County Council and many others.”
In order to get the grant funding the trail must comply with certain requirements. Like being 10 ft. wide with 2 ft. of recovery on each side which allows the trail to be ADA-compliant as well.
“This will connect Rea Park initially in the city of Terre Haute to Riley, in hopes of getting a future connection from Rea Park to Dewey Park and the Wabashiki area, so hopefully at some point here in the future we’ll have a connection from West Terre Haute, potentially Saint Mary-of-the-Woods all the way to Riley, which is an amazing feat,” Vigo County Commissioner Chris Switzer said.
The 7.9-mile asphalt trail will begin in the Town of Riley, located in the southwest corridor, and will extend further west as it heads towards the City of Terre Haute. Leaving Riley, the Riley Spur Rail Line runs adjacent to State Road 46 before continuing past Lama Road. From there, the trail will extend further passing the Idle Creek area and neighborhood. After Idle Creek, the Riley Trail will run parallel to McDaniel Road before heading into Terre Haute. After its extension through the southeast side of Terre Haute, the Riley Trail will move towards Rea Park, where it will extend into a loop around the area, enveloping the golf courses, park area, and historic clubhouse. The trail will continue to move further into Terre Haute through grassy areas before it extends under I-70 and ends at Margaret Drive.
RJL Solutions News Release
“I’m especially thankful for the Friends of Rea Park group, and our engineering teams for working together on this project,” states Mayor Duke Bennet. “Trails are important, but this trail’s connection to our parks and existing city trail system allows us to connect our community in new ways. This is evidence of good collaboration between the private and public sectors, and I’m grateful for all involved.”
The release notes that the design process is currently underway, in 2023, some of the design was completed through collaboration of the city and county engineering teams and students at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
“So, we think trails our a great investment, to get out and throw some headphones on and walk your dog a couple miles, and just enjoy and take some mental health time yourself and walk on a trail. So trails are important to this group of commissioners and we’re going to continue pursuing those grants as they become available,” Switzer added.
