GOVERNOR RYAN ANNOUNCES GRANTS FOR HISTORIC DOWNTOWN OSWEGO

OSWEGO -- Governor George H. Ryan today announced grants totaling $2.2 million to the village of Oswego. A grant for $1.7 million will be used to make improvements to the historic district streetscape and revitalize the downtown area. Another for $510,000 will be used to construct a bike path from Washington Street to the local library.

"This project will enhance an important focal point for the community and preserve a tangible part of Oswego's history. It will also strengthen the economic vitality of the area drawing residents as well as visitors to the area," Ryan said.

Improvements include decorative pedestrian lighting, landscaping, sidewalks, handrails, retaining walls, and brick pavements at various locations in the historic district.

The project is being completed in conjunction with the Fox River/Waubonse bike path, also in the downtown area. Both will provide an important pedestrian/bicycle link between population centers west of the Fox River to the downtown area and a future connection to the Fox river Trail system and the I & M Canal Bike Trail.

In addition to streetscape improvements and the bike path in Oswego, funding for 13 other projects in the area were awarded by the Governor. Together, these projects received $8.4 million.

The 15 projects are among 92 throughout the state totaling $76.7 million the Governor announced this week. They are funded under three programs administered by the Illinois Departments of Transportation and Natural Resources.

The Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program (ITEP) funds projects that restore or improve historic streetscapes and other historic transportation facilities and museums, scenic and historic highways, and projects that complement traditional highway and mass transit facilities, such as bicycle and pedestrian trails for commuters.

The program is administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation. It is funded from a set-aside of federal highway funds and matched with local or state dollars.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources administers the Illinois bicycle path grant program for local recreational bike paths, and the Open Land Trust (OLT) program provides grants to help local governments preserve and restore open lands.

The OLT is a $160 million initiative of the Governor's that provides $40 million per year over four years for land purchases and improvements to protect the state's most precious natural resources. It is the largest open space acquisition and preservation program in Illinois' history.

"Bike paths and trails provide families with safe places to have fun together," Governor Ryan added. "And preserving our open lands, our precious natural resources and our native wildlife is vital to giving every Illinois citizen a safe and health environment."

In addition to the projects in Oswego, the Governor's also announced the following projects in Kendall, Kane and portions of Will Counties:

• Bolingbrook Park District,
  $200,000 to develop 2 miles of bicycle path connecting the DuPage River Greenway path to the Lily Cache path and thereby creating six-mile trail linking neighborhoods to parks, business centers and schools (IDNR).

• Fox Valley Park District,
  $200,000 to renovate 4.9 miles of the V.L. Gilman Trail westward from Montgomery Road to Barnes Road (IDNR).

• Geneva Park District,
  $487,500 to acquire a 22-acre addition to Peck Farm, located on the corner of Kaneville Road and Fabyan Parkway (IDNR).

• Village of Geneva,
  $400,000 to improve the streetscape including landscaping, sidewalks and fencing along Historic Third Street from Crescent Place to Hamilton Street (IDOT).

• City of Joliet,
  $200,000 to develop a 4.9 mile, multi-use segment of the Joliet Junction Trail from Theodore Street to U.S. 6 where it will connect to the I & M Canal State Trail (IDNR).

• Kane County Division of Transportation,
  $368,000 to construct a .26-mile extension of the South Street Bike Trail with a pedestrian underpass under Randall Road in Geneva (IDOT).

• Kane County Forest Preserve District,
  $1,376,000 to construct a pedestrian overpass including a bikeway connection on the V. L. Gilman Trail over Illinois 56 and Blackberry Creek west of Aurora (IDOT).

• Kane County Forest Preserve District,
  $200,000 to realign a .25 mile section of the V.L. Gilman Trail and to construct a bridge over Illinois 56 northeast of Sugar Grove (IDNR).

• Kane County Forest Preserve District,
  $2 million to acquire the 121 acre Carlson Slough on the south-west corner of Denny and Norris Roads, and a 292 acre portion of the Thornton Farm about ½ mile east of Illinois 56 on Hankes Road (IDNR/OLT).

• Kendall County Forest Preserve District,
  $127,800 to acquire 22 acres consisting of an 11 acre wooded bluff savanna and an 11 acre island in the Fox River approximately ¾ miles downstream from the Village of Yorkville (IDNR).

• Oswegoland Park District,
  $200,000 to develop a 2.4 mile multi-use trail that will connect five parks and six subdivisions along Grove Road from Prairie Point Center in the village of Oswego to Waa Kee Sha Park (IDNR).

• Village of Oswego,
  $510,000 to construct the .62-mile Fox River/Waubonsee Creek Bike Path from Washington Street over the Fox River north along Hudson Crossing Park and Waubonsee Creek to the library, including lighting and landscaping (IDOT/ITEP).

• Plainfield Township Park District,
  $251,000 to conduct Phase I engineering for the 11.3-mile DuPage River Trail along the DuPage River from 115th Street in Plainfield to Theodore Street in Joliet (IDOT).

• St. Charles Park District,
  $160,000 to construct a bicycle bridge over Randall Road at Silver Glen Road (IDNR).