“St. Clair County Transit District (SCCTD) today announced it has approved $355,051 to be used toward engineering for Phase I of the Fairview Heights – Swansea Trail. This proposed 1.7-mile bike and pedestrian pathway will extend from the traffic signal at the intersection of Illinois Route 161 and Sullivan Drive in Belleville to Frank Scott Parkway in Fairview Heights, connecting residents in Belleville, Swansea and Fairview Heights to the 14 continues miles of trails in Southwestern Illinois known as the MetroBikeLink System, which links users to six Metro Transit Centers.

The design phase will take approximately 12 months and will include topography and boundary surveys; designing the trail, a bridge to go over the MetroLink tracks and a retaining wall near Llewellyn Road; geotechnical borings/reporting; extending a large box culvert; and coordination with IDOT, Metro and St. Clair County Highway Departments for permits for the work. The project will provide a separate 10’ wide asphalt shared use path (bike and pedestrian way) within the county’s right of way along Sullivan Road. This phase of the trail will connect over 2,000 homes in Swansea and Fairview Heights to the trail system including these 14 subdivisions – Willow Walk, Sullivan Meadows, Cobblestone Park, Sullivan Farms. Sullivan Manors, Larkin Meadows, Fairfield Manor, Wild Horse Meadows, Quail Ridge, Barrington Place, Greenbriar Meadows, Meadowlake Acres, Countryview Estates and Huntleigh Place.”