Thanks to the efforts of volunteers, several new trees have been planted along the Route 66 trail near Chenoa.
“They have some trees planted over there but there is room for more so some folks approached us about helping out,” explained Patrick Dullard, president of Friends of the Constitution Trail.
The group has planted trees along Route 66 in Lexington, Towanda, Shirley and Funks Grove. Almost 30 trees are being planted at Chenoa this fall with another 30 going in next spring.
“Chenoa is so thankful to partner with the Friends of the Constitution Trail to have a contiguous section of historic Old Route 66,” said Sarah Michaels, coordinator of the Route 66 Red Carpet Corridor and a community volunteer.
Several areas have developed segments of the Route 66 Bike Trail with a goal of going from Chicago to St. Louis.
“McLean County pretty much leads the state in developing it,” notes Dullard.
While segments of the trail are visible near Lexington and Chenoa, it has been built from Normal to north of Towanda.
“Last winter, the county received the Raise grant for $650,000 to do the remaining planning for the gap, so that would be Chenoa north to the county line, Lexington to Chenoa and Towanda to Lexington,” added Dullard.
Everyone is looking toward the big centennial celebration of Route 66 in 2026. In fact, Michaels anticipates thousands of people wanting to walk, drive or ride their bikes on this section.
“We are thrilled Chenoa can participate,” stated Michaels.
In many places along Route 66, two decommissioned lanes are just sitting there so the goal is to build a trail on that. The south segment is expected to be completed next year from Funks Grove down to McLean. There is also money to build a mile on each side of Lexington.
The Friends of the Constitution Trail adopted Route 66 through the county as part of the Constitution Trail system with a mission to advocate for the expansion of the trail.
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