illinois jane addams trail wins national recognition
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The Jane Addams Trail in northwest Illinois received an Annual Achievement Award for Local Construction and Design at a Washington D.C. ceremony on June 10 held by the Coalition for Recreational Trails (CRT).
The Jane Addams Trail was the only trail from the Midwest selected by the CRT, and one of only a handful of trail programs awarded throughout the country.
Each year the CRT, a federation of national and regional organizations that support trails, rewards as many as 10 trail programs and projects from around the country for outstanding use of Recreational Trails Program (RTP) funds. The ceremony is held during Great Outdoors Week, which was created to draw awareness to the importance of recreation.
"It's just awesome to think we have a nationally honored trail in northwest Illinois, especially when you look at all the trails throughout the Midwest," said Illinois Association of Snowmobile Clubs (IASC) Trail Advisor Greg Hodges.
A group of hard-working trail enthusiasts, environmentally-oriented individuals and the staff from several government agencies constructed the 10.5 miles of trail on a former Illinois Central Railroad corridor. With help from the funding provided by the RTP, the group renovated 21 bridges, comprising 1,400 linear feet.
The Jane Addams Trail is part of the 475-mile Grand Illinois Trail that travels across northern Illinois from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River.