State to Dedicate Extension of Tunnel Hill Trail to Eldorado

Local and state officials will officially dedicate the newest segment of the Tunnel Hill State Trail Friday at 4 p.m. in Harrisburg. The segments starts at the north end of Harrisburg, crosses the Saline River on a new bridge and travels through Muddy and Wasson before connecting with an existing network of bike trails in Eldorado.


View Larger Map of the Tunnel Hill State Trail at the Middle Fork of the Saline River by Harrisburg

The showpiece of the new path must be the bridge spanning the Saline River at Muddy, where great blue herons may be seen trying their luck with the little fish flashing in the water below.

"The scenery is spectacular throughout the bike trail and the bridge enhances the beauty of the trail," Harrisburg Mayor Eric Gregg said. "I think this is something we can build on and I'm interested in working closely with (Eldorado) Mayor (Rocky) James and everybody along the bike path."

The ribbon cutting will take place where the trail crosses Veterans Drive at the Small Street intersection.

South of Harrisburg the state maintains a 45-mile segment through Tunnel Hill, Vienna, and finally ends at the Cache River Wetlands Center at Perks.

The trail is crushed limestone in rural areas, and concrete in Harrisburg and Eldorado.

Harrah's Casino at Metropolis Reopens

Harrah's Casino and Hotel at Metropolis is set to reopen this morning at 9 a.m. following a temporary closing last Wednesday due to high waters on the Ohio River.

According to their website, "all food outlets will be open, with the exception of The Rivercrest, which will open Wednesday, and The Range Steakhouse, which is typically closed on Tuesdays."

The 36,000-square-foot casino and its related hotel are part of the Las Vegas-based Caesars Entertainment Corp.

Elsewhere in Metropolis, the portion of the new George Rogers Clark Discovery Trail in Fort Massac State Park is now open for bicyclists.

Groundbreaking Set for Metropolis-Brookport Bike Trail

Groundbreaking for the George Rogers Clark Discovery Trail will take place tomorrow, Friday, at 1 p.m. next to the interpretive center at Fort Massac State Park.

The 8.8-miles trail is roughly half shared roadways and half former railroad right-of-way from Metropolis to Brookport.

Backers secured $3.2 million in funding last September.

For more information, check out this PowerPoint presentation.

The name honors Revolutionary War Gen. George Rogers Clark who secured the old Northwest Territory for American forces in 1778-1779. He and his men first landed in Illinois at the mouth of Seven Mile Creek, just upriver from the fort which is still located in the state park.

Metropolis and Massac County officials have been working on this since the early 1970s. Congratulations on the breakthrough.

Crab Orchard Refuge Updates

I attended last night's annual meeting of the Friends of Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge. There are were a number of projects I heard updates about, some were new, some I just knew were in the works.

Here's a summary:

• Bogard Point Fishing Area — While there is already a fishing dock and benches at Bogard Point on the west side of Wolf Creek Road on the north shore of Crab Orchard Lake, the Friends approved a bid last night night to pay for a new 690 feet long walking path to extend from the existing parking lot, as well as five new picnic tables.
  
  
• Bike Trail — The Friends has a committee working on developing bike trails inside the refuge and a surveying class at SIU-Carbondale is helping to do some of the planning work. They are generally looking to develop the first leg from the old northeast entrance of the refuge at Timmons Station Road on Marion's southwest side then following the old railroad grades across the north side of the refuge over to Wolf Creek Road. They are currently working on a grant to help cover the costs of doing this and replacing some of the bridge crossings.
  
  
• Devils Kitchen Campground — The campground at Devil's Kitchen Lake will reopen next year on Memorial Day as a primitive campground. Amenities will include the shower building and plus another 9 or 10 tent camping sites.
  
  
• Turn Lanes on Route 148 — Refuge Manager Dan Frisk told the group that the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Illinois Department of Transportation have worked out a plan to provide turn lanes on Route 148 in front of the Visitors Center. As part of the project the intersection of Pigeon Creek Road and Route 148 will be realigned to match the entrance with the visitors center. Construction on this project should begin next summer.

The Friends of Crab Orchard NWR meets the first Thursday of every month at 6:30 p.m. at the refuge Visitors Center at 8588 Route 148 South.