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Work planned for MCT Nature Trail

Madison County Transit soon will be replacing the pavement on a section of the MCT Nature Trail between Pontoon Beach and Edwardsville, Ill., that is in dire need of repair.

Dan Corbett, a friend of mine and a member of MCT's board of trustees, said the board today accepted bids on the project.

The section of the Nature Trail that will be affected by the repairs is between Chain of Rocks Road just outside Edwardsville and the junction with the MCT Nickel Plate Trail near Long Lake in Pontoon Beach.

That section of the trail will be closed during the repaving, but no exact timetable has been set for the work.

At the moment, that section of trail is open, but please use caution and watch for warning signs and cones -- especially if you ride a road bike. The cracks in the pavement can easily catch a road tire.

The reason why the section of the Nature Trail has deteriorated so much is because of the soil conditions beneath the trail surface, Dan said. Work will be done to the bed beneath the trail to make it better suited to handle an asphalt trail.

Thanks to MCT's extensive trail system, you'll still be able to ride on a trail between the Granite City/Pontoon Beach area and the Edwardsville/Glen Carbon area while work is being done on the Nature Trail. Instead of using the Nature Trail, you can use the Nickel Plate Trail between Long Lake and the eastern end of the Nature Trail.

Labels: bicycling, MCT Trails, trails

Roger 0 comments 1:42 PM