The Illinois Trail project received $1 million in funding from Next Level Trails from the State of Indiana. This nearly two-mile long trail will extend the trail at Rockhill Park to the intersection of Getz Road and Illinois Road, connecting trail users with Parkwest Shopping Center, Jefferson Pointe and the many businesses, retail centers and restaurants along the Illinois Road corridor.

The project also includes the resurfacing of Illinois Road and improvements to four intersections.

Trail alignment is the purple line in the map below. The project was awarded to Bunn Excavating. A pre-construction meeting was held in January. A "Meet the Contractors" meeting was held March 25th. Construction began on March 23, 2026. The project will be constructed in four phases. Traffic patterns will change as each phase progresses. See TrectheFort for all lane closure updates.

For the road improvement portion, the contractor will work from the west end to the east end of the project. Trail work will begin in April and trail construction will occur in all four phases of the project.

As of April 2026, the Greater Fort Wayne Area Trails Network consists of 165 miles of trails, with 110 miles inside City limits. Most of the trails in City limits are planned, designed, constructed, and maintained by the City of Fort Wayne under the leadership of Mayor Sharon Tucker.