Trails projects in Fort Wayne, Angola and Steuben County awarded grants

Brittany Smith | Wednesday, December 27, 2023

The Illinois Road Trail will be a 1.97-mile long, 10-foot wide, asphalt trail and it will connect to 107 miles of interconnected trails within the Fort Wayne Area Trails network. Courtesy

Stuben County received $3.7 million to extend the Poka-Bache Trail over three miles, connecting the southern part of Angola to the Town of Pleasent Lake, shown here. Courtesy

Angola received $1.5 million to extend the existing Poka-Bache Trail 1.2 miles to the city’s southern boundary, shown here. Courtesy

Mayor Tom Henry recently announced the City’s Greenways & Trails Department has been awarded a $1 million grant from the State of Indiana to construct a trail along Illinois Road.

According to the city’s press release, the Illinois Road Trail will be a 1.97-mile long, 10-foot wide, asphalt trail and it will connect to 107 miles of interconnected trails within the Fort Wayne Area Trails network.

The Illinois Road Trail will be a 1.97-mile long, 10-foot wide, asphalt trail and it will connect to 107 miles of interconnected trails within the Fort Wayne Area Trails network.The Illinois Road Trail will connect various shopping centers, such as Jefferson Pointe Mall, Apple Glen Shopping Center, Parkwest Shopping Center and Meijer, while also connecting Getz Road, where a pre-existing, one-mile-long sidewalk connects with more businesses, churches, housing and neighborhoods.

The city’s press release also indicates that Lindley Elementary School and Portage Middle School will be connected to the completed Illinois Road Trail through the existing Ardmore Avenue Trail and Towpath Trail.

The overall cost of the project is around $4.4 million. According to the press release, the Illinois Road Trail project will be bid on in 2024 and construction is expected to start in 2025.

The grant is part of Next Level Trails (NLT), a state program, which helps fund the development of regionally and locally significant trails across Indiana. The program has invested $180 million into Indiana’s trails.

The City of Angola and Steuben County were also awarded grants from this round of the NLT for the Poka-Bache Trail, a project that will run through four counties and seven cities and towns, starting at Pokagon State Park in Angola and ending in Ouabache State Park in Bluffton. The final trail will be 81 miles long.

According to the Department of Natural Resources, which administers the grant, Angola received $1.5 million to extend the existing Poka-Bache Trail 1.2 miles to the city’s southern boundary, and Steuben County received $3.7 million to extend the trail over three miles, connecting the southern part of Angola to the Town of Pleasent Lake.

NLT is part of Governor Eric Holcomb’s broader Next Level Connections infrastructure program.

Read more articles by Brittany Smith.

Brittany Smith is Input Fort Wayne's Managing Editor. Previously she served as Assistant Editor and participated in the College Input Program. She also volunteers for Northeast Indiana Public Radio.