On a beautiful fall morning with colors everywhere, it could not have been a better time for Friday’s ribbon cutting, at the Kickapoo Rail Trail bridge over the Middle Fork Vermilion River, out by the Vermilion County Fair Grounds. For many years, it was just the old CSX metal rail bridge crossing the long gap. But through the combined efforts of the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, as well as support from the Vermilion County Conservation District, this major Kickapoo Rail Trail Improvement was built and formally recognized. County Conservation District executive director Jamie Pasquale says the old structure was perfectly in place for this new project, and once it was completed in late summer, they couldn’t keep people away.
The Dedication Friday Morning, November 5th, of the Kickapoo Rail Trail Bridge across the Middle Fork Vermilion River included Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman, and Illinios Department of Natural Resources Director Colleen Callahan.
AUDIO: The bridge structure itself, they say, is still capable of holding a train, so this made sense; to leave the structure in place and build a new section on top of it for pedestrians. It unofficially opened a couple months ago. The public demand kind of opened it on their own. I think they were going to hold off on opening it, but the public just started using it.
Illinois Department of Natural Resources Director Colleen Callahan says residents both local and far away need to come out and see the beautiful view for themselves.
AUDIO: This is something for all of us, not only to enjoy and appreciate, but to share. It’s not just for us, not just for those who live in and around this area. People travel out of state, because they think that they need to to see views like this. We can stay pretty much right in our own backyard and still have that kind of experience, and this is a perfect example of that.
Illinois Transportation Secretary Omer Osman attended as well. And for the record, the wood used to build the path on top of the old metal railroad trestle is the densest wood available to man, epi (EE-pay) wood from South America. It’s also called Brazillian Walnut by many. It’s up to five times harder than most woods, and will not float.
