Improvement Project Begins at Forest Preserve’s Schneider’s Passage Trailhead in Romeoville

Work is scheduled to begin Monday, April 29, on improvements to the Forest Preserve District of Will County’s Schneider’s Passage, a trailhead for the overlapping Centennial and Veterans Memorial trails in Romeoville.

The project will expand parking from six to 30 spaces, and a latrine will be installed to replace a port-a-potty at the site. There will be intermittent parking lot and trailhead closures as the work progresses. Check the Current Headlines page on the Forest Preserve’s website, ReconnectWithNature.org, for updates.

When the work begins, barricades will be erected east of the trailhead entrance to prevent access to a road where informal parallel parking has been available in the past. The only trailhead parking that will be available in the short term is the six-space lot at the entrance, which is located on the north side of 135th Street, east of Route 53. The existing six-space lot will close toward the end of the project for repaving after 24 parallel parking spaces are installed along the trailhead road. Unlike the previous informal parallel parking spots, these official parking spaces will be reinforced and marked.

During the improvement project, alternate parking will be available at Isle a la Cache Museum, which is located on the south side of 135th Street, just west of Schneider’s Passage.

In addition to parking improvements, a cul-de-sac will be constructed at the eastern end of the road so cars can turn around, a sidewalk will be added from the latrine to the trail, and a bench and landscaping also will be installed at the trailhead.

The Centennial/Veterans Memorial trail travels 3.26 miles east to the Cook County border where the two trails split and Veterans Memorial heads north to Woodridge. The combined trail also connects to theI&M Canal Trail, which leads from Schneider’s Passage and stretches 5.87 miles south to the Joliet Iron Works Historic Site in Joliet.