The McLean County, Illinois, board recently approved an engineering contract to build a 4.5-mile addition to a Route 66 bicycling trail south of Funks Grove.
According to the Bloomington Pantagraph, the county was chosen to receive state funds for the Route 66 bike trail starting in McLean and ending at an existing trail near Funks Grove. One-fifth of the $2.68 million project will be covered by local funds.
McLean County Administrator Cassy Taylor said this could be a roughly three-year project.
“That’s phase one, the engineering for that section of road, and then they anticipate that the actual construction will be in 2025 with completion and payment of the bills in 2026,” Taylor said.
The trail’s projected completion would be just before Route 66’s centennial in 2026.
More about McLean County’s 37-mile Route 66 Trail can be found here. The Adventure Cycling Association also has details and maps on how to cycle across about 2,400 miles of Route 66.
Funks Grove doesn’t even have 400 residents, but it’s internationally famous for its historic Funks Grove Pure Maple Sirup shop.
McLean isn’t very big, either, but it does have the Dixie Truckers Home, McLean Depot Train Shop and several spots that pay tribute to the town’s Route 66 heritage.
(Image of one of the Funks Grove Maple Sirup signs by ElectraSteph via Flickr)