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302:, US 30), which parallels the Old Plank Road Trail throughout its entire length. Service on this portion of the Joliet Cutoff ended in 1972. This abandonment opened the way for the railroad bed to be rededicated to public trail use.
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Starting in 1977, local residents organized to preserve the historic right-of-way for trail use. In 1982, the right-of-way was renamed the Old Plank Road Trail. The trail was officially opened to the public in July 1997.
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from the start of its existence. Soon this section of roadbed was called the Joliet Cutoff and was operated by the
Michigan Central as a spur line of its primary right-of-way from Indiana into downtown
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In the early 1900s, railroad use of this roadbed began to decline. Trains were beginning to be partly replaced by rubber-tired vehicles that used new paved roads such as the
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313:, on ground that had never been plowed since the land was originally acquired for plank road purposes about 1850. The Old Plank Road Trail is currently operated by the
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and by various townships and municipalities with jurisdiction over the trail. The trail is served by numerous cross-streets adjacent to US 30, and by the
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right-of-way acquired about 1850 and improved in 1855 into a railroad line, chartered as the
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Several strips of land along the roadbed preserve remnants of the
Chicago area's original
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278:. This nominally independent railroad line, which stretched from Joliet to
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The Old Plank Road Trail occupies the western half of a
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686:Bike paths in the Chicago metropolitan area
282:, appears to have been affiliated with the
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576:Illinois & Michigan Canal State Trail
219:Old Plank Road Trail highlighted in green
681:Protected areas of Will County, Illinois
671:Protected areas of Cook County, Illinois
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315:Forest Preserve District of Will County
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230:is a 22-mile-long (35 km) public
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626:Southern DuPage County Regional Trail
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276:Joliet and Northern Indiana Railroad
42:Old Plank Road Trail crossing above
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325:north-south commuter train line.
16:Public rail trail in Illinois, US
356:Old Plank Road Trail Association
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691:1997 establishments in Illinois
601:North Ave Commuter Bicycle Path
586:Joliet Ironworks Heritage Trail
246:. It stretches westward from
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103:; 27 years ago
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254:, serving suburbs such as
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488:North Shore Channel Trail
284:Michigan Central Railroad
242:within the U.S. state of
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162:Chicago Heights, Illinois
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423:Boulevard Lakefront Tour
676:Rail trails in Illinois
646:Wauponsee Glacial Trail
561:Fullersburg Woods Trail
531:Des Plaines River Trail
183:41.499028°N 87.651278°W
146:41.523222°N 88.054444°W
62:22 mi (35 km)
352:"Old Plank Road Trail"
591:Joliet Junction Trail
581:Illinois Prairie Path
571:I & M Canal Trail
566:Hickory Creek Bikeway
536:Erie Lackawanna Trail
428:Chicago Critical Mass
280:Lake Station, Indiana
188:41.499028; -87.651278
151:41.523222; -88.054444
75:Cook County, Illinois
641:Waterfall Glen Trail
606:Old Plank Road Trail
546:Grand Illinois Trail
228:Old Plank Road Trail
31:Old Plank Road Trail
21:Old Plank Road Trail
19:For other uses, see
556:Great Western Trail
493:Skokie Valley Trail
179: /
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52:cable-stayed bridge
636:Tinley Creek Trail
516:Block Run Greenway
483:North Branch Trail
478:Major Taylor Trail
463:Bloomingdale Trail
404:Cycling in Chicago
90:Began construction
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631:Thorn Creek Trail
311:tallgrass prairie
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207:https://oprt.org/
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621:Salt Creek Trail
526:Centennial Trail
498:Weber Spur Trail
468:Burnham Greenway
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442:Shared-use paths
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125:Joliet, Illinois
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541:Fox River Trail
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473:Lakefront Trail
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300:U.S. Highway 30
296:Lincoln Highway
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77:, United States
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433:Perimeter Ride
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616:Prairie Trail
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521:Calumet Trail
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458:312 RiverRun
361:December 21,
359:. Retrieved
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321:stop on the
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171:41°29′56.5″N
134:41°31′23.6″N
25:
596:Monon Trail
240:Will County
236:Cook County
186: /
174:87°39′4.6″W
149: /
137:88°3′16.0″W
82:Established
71:Will County
696:Plank road
665:Categories
508:Metro area
329:References
272:plank road
232:rail trail
117:Trailheads
44:US 45
260:New Lenox
256:Frankfort
213:Trail map
98:Completed
48:Frankfort
319:Matteson
244:Illinois
67:Location
450:Chicago
289:Chicago
266:History
203:Website
106: (
411:Events
252:Joliet
59:Length
50:via a
298:(now
363:2008
258:and
238:and
226:The
108:1997
101:1997
93:1996
85:1997
250:to
234:in
46:in
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354:.
337:^
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262:.
396:e
389:t
382:v
365:.
195:)
164:(
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127:(
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73:–
23:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
