The Sangamon Valley Trail is an

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetca ...

on the west side of

Sangamon County Sangamon County is located in the center of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 197,465. Its county seat and largest city is Springfield, the state capital. Sangamon County is included in the Sp ...

in the U.S. state of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

. Skirting

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest ...

, it extends from Centennial Park, on Springfield's southwest side (), to Irwin Bridge Road near Sangamon County's northern border (). It was constructed by a Sangamon County team in two stages; the 5.5-mile-long first or southern stage was completed in 2010–2011 at a cost of $3.8 million, and opened to the public on July 26, 2011. The 6-mile-long second or northern half of the trail was completed in 2016-2017 at a cost of $4.4 million, and opened to the public on November 16, 2017. The trail is operated by the Springfield Park District.

Description

Right-of-way

The Sangamon Valley Trail's right-of-way has been set aside for rail trail use. It occupies an abandoned segment of the St. Louis, Peoria and North Western Railway, later consolidated into the

Chicago and North Western Railroad The Chicago and North Western was a Railroad classes#Class I, Class I railroad in the Midwestern United States. It was also known as the "North Western". The railroad operated more than of track at the turn of the 20th century, and over of t ...

. The primary metropolitan area served is the greater

Springfield, Illinois metropolitan area IJS The Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in Central Illinois, anchored by the city of Springfield. As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 2 ...

. The entire right-of-way connects

Girard, Illinois Girard is a city in Macoupin County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,103 at the 2010 census, and 2,010 at a 2018 estimate. History Girard is named after Stephen Girard Geography Girard is located at (39.445947, -89.781253). Accord ...

, on the south end, to Athens, Illinois, at the north end. The right-of-way spans the western half of Sangamon County in a north-south direction, and also traverses small sections of Macoupin County and Menard County. Population in the trail's service area in western Sangamon County is growing rapidly .

Trail expansion

A $4.4 million extension of the trail was constructed in work beginning in summer 2016. The additional of trail, which extends northward from the trail's former Stuart Park trailhead, connects Stuart Park with Fancy Creek Township near Cantrall, Illinois. The extension of the trail to a northern trailhead at Irwin Bridge Road enables the recreational pathway to cross the

Sangamon River The Sangamon River is a principal tributary of the Illinois River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed May 13, 2011 in central Illinois in the United Stat ...

, the river that provided the trail with its name. Local leaders look forward to further lengthening of trail-accessible pavement on unused sections of the acquired right-of-way. These extensions could lengthen the trail into portions of Macoupin County and Menard County.

References

{{reflist Protected areas of Macoupin County, Illinois Protected areas of Menard County, Illinois Protected areas of Sangamon County, Illinois Rail trails in Illinois 2011 establishments in Illinois Protected areas established in 2011