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Groundbreaking for 606 Trail extension now not expected until 2025

The 411 on the timetable for The 606 extension
The 411 on the timetable for The 606 extension 02:35

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The highly-anticipated extension of the Bloomingdale Trail – also known as The 606 - is still years away.

We reported almost a year ago that construction for the expansion was imminent - but nothing has happened yet. CBS 2's Lauren Victory has nailed down a new timeline for the trail.

Whether on a sunny day or a gloomy one, The 606 is a happy trial. The 2.7-mile stretch now runs from Ridgeway Avenue on the west to Walsh Park at Ashland Avenue on the east.

There will one day be more path to plod along. The trail will eventually be extended to connect Walsh Park with a bridge across the North Branch of the Chicago River – passing under the Kennedy Expressway and the Union Pacific railroad tracks.

But something has been gnawing at users – the plan for expansion of The 606 Trail has been in the news since at least 2018 – five years.

Trail user Sylvia Bednarz often wonders when the extension will actually go ahead.

"All the time," Bednarz said.

When extension work will begin is the multimillion-dollar question. CBS 2 recently spotted landscapers sprucing up the area – but no construction crews.

Developer Sterling Bay is responsible for part of the trail expansion. On a recent visit to its Lincoln Yards site – located on the east side of the river at the planned trail extension's endpoint – CBS 2 had to ask about 606 progress.

CBS 2's Victory asked Sterling Bay managing principal Matt Menna what makes it so slow-going.

"Just all the governmental agencies - you're dealing with Chicago, Illinois, national entities, the railroads," Menna said in an April 19 interview.

The extended trail would run through pieces of property with different people in charge.

We got the same explanation about complex coordination from another Sterling Bay higher-up in June 2022.

"As soon as we wrap up those discussions and get all of those approvals, we'll be able to get work started," Sterling Bay Principal Suzet McKinney said back at that time.

The Chicago Department of Transportation now tells us 2025 is the goal for breaking ground.

Right now, preliminary engineering work is under way – which, as we keep getting told, involves "coordinating stakeholders."

Ald. Scott Waguespack (32nd) is part of planning conversations. He wants to add even more voices to the web of coordinators from the Lincoln Yards Community Advisory Council.

"I do want to move the project along, but I think it has to go at a reasonable pace where it's open and transparent with the whole public," Waguespack said.

So it sounds like the turnaround for The 606 extension is years away – perhaps by 2030?

The Lincoln Yards portion of the project will run from Elston Avenue over a bridge the developer still needs to build.

Cook County is also involved. A county spokesperson tells CBS 2 that a federal grant is helping support the design of the 606 Trail - but more funding is needed for construction.

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