Merrillville's C&O Trail is a step closer to being connected to the rest of the Region's trail network. The town's redevelopment commission recently selected Gariup Construction Company to build an extension for a cost of $1,365,000.
Jake Dammarell is with engineering firm Butler, Fairman & Seufert. "The project overall is about a mile of trail from the current termini of what was C&O phase 2 near Taft Street westward-northwestward to the [town limits] near Hendricks," Dammarell told commission members.
Last year, Merrillville received a Next Level Trails grant from the state to cover 80 percent of the cost. The town plans to cover the remaining $273,000 with TIF money. Construction is expected to start this spring.
Grant funding was also awarded to the Lake County Parks and Recreation Department to fill the remaining gap between the Merrillville town limits and the existing Oak Savannah Trail, which in turn, connects to the Erie Lackawanna Trail.
