The Fort Sheridan Forest Preserve will get $1.8 million in improvements over the next two years, after the Lake County Forest Preserve District Board of Commissioners on May 9 approved a contract for the work with V3 Construction Group of Woodridge, according to a press release.
The main goal of the improvements is to make property “accessible for people of all ages and abilities,” said Randy Seebach, director of planning and land preservation for the Lake County Forest Preserves.
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The improvements, according to the press release, include redesigning the entrance drive on Gilgare Lane, a paved 45-car parking lot to replace a dirt lot, trailhead improvements, drainage improvement to a 1.6-mile grass trail, wood boardwalks and overlooks of Lake Michigan and converting wood chip trails to asphalt.
The 250-acre property was transferred from the U.S. Army to the Lake County Forest Preserves from 1999 to 2001, Seebach said. The Forest Preserves originally looked to replace an existing golf course on the property with a new one, Seebach said.
“The golf course bids came in higher than expected,” Seebach said. “The Board rejected those bids and put in some temporary measures; temporary grass trails, a temporary (dirt) parking lot.”
In 2012, the Board decided against having a golf course and began work on a master plan, which was completed in November 2015, Seebach said.
The money for the improvements was set aside from a 2008 bond referendum, “well before the master plan was complete,” Seebach said.
Portions of the Fort Sheridan preserve will close on May 30, Seebach said, and will remain closed until early summer 2018. Other portions will close until early summer 2019. Details can be found on the Lake County Forest Preserves website at www.lcfpd.org/projects.
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