CME.14 – Phase 1 of the 13 Miles of Improvements of the Great Western Trail in DuPage County
Team Members Heading link
- Gieanelli Acaylar
- Kevin Aranda
- Gustavo Morales
- Miranda Reese
- Mahmoud Souman
- Danyal Zakria
Project Description Heading link
The Great Western Trail (GWT) is a regional trail spanning a total of 13 miles across DuPage County, Illinois. These 13 miles formerly consisted of the Chicago & Great Western Railway’s right of way before being purchased by the County in the 1980s and renovated into the GWT. The County, within its Trail Plans, seeks to enhance accessibility and safety throughout its trails while maintaining the trail’s unique identity. The goal of this project is to provide improvements to 2 miles of the GWT to address barriers to accessibility and safety issues. The first improvement will be at Swift Road (Main County Road 54). Swift Road intersects the GWT after a major vertical grade change, leading to safety concerns for pedestrians attempting to cross the intersection. To improve sight distance, the vertical grade will be decreased and signage will be introduced to improve visibility and awareness. The second area of improvement is to repave the section of Swift Road by the GWT, as it is currently in poor condition. The third area of improvement is the walking trail itself; there are areas which need to conform to a standard cross section as there are existing potholes, drainage issues, and damage from wear and tear. These areas will be fixed and shaped to match the proposed standard cross section of the trail as best as possible. The fourth and final area of improvement for the trail are the intersection crosswalks for local residential roads. Each intersection will be improved so that the crosswalks are visible, consistent with one another, and compliant with ADA standards. The designs in this project shall adhere to design standards from the FHWA, IDOT, and DuPage County.