Editing Interstate 355 (section)

===Veterans Memorial Trail===
As part of constructing the southern extension, the tollway authority donated a {{convert|15|to(-)|20|ft|m|0|adj=mid|-wide}} corridor to local municipalities for the construction of a [[multi-use trail]], named the Veterans Memorial Trail, that will run along most of the length of the tollway from I-80 to I-55.<ref name="lafferty">{{cite news |title = I-355 Communities Hope to Connect Via Trails |first = Susan DeMar |last = Lafferty |date = June 22, 2009 |work = [[SouthtownStar]] |publisher = [[Sun-Times News Group]] |page = A3 }}</ref> Completion of the trail is expected to cost $10&nbsp;million, with funding to be provided by local communities along the path. A new construction fund for the trail was created from registration fees collected for "Roll the Tollway".<ref name=komperda_200711>{{cite news |url = http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=75430&src=2 |date = November 11, 2007 |access-date = November 12, 2007 |work = Daily Herald |last = Komperda |first = Jack |title = Can a Sunday bike ride get new trail started? }}</ref> The [[Active Transportation Alliance]] announced on January 29, 2008 that about $108,000 (equivalent to ${{formatnum:{{inflation|US-GDP|108000|2008|r=-3}}}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP}}) was raised through "Roll the Tollway". Of this amount, $70,000 (equivalent to ${{formatnum:{{inflation|US-GDP|70000|2008|r=-3}}}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP}}) was set aside for preliminary engineering studies on the {{convert|10.5|mi|km|adj=on}} bicycle trail. The remaining amount was directed towards advocacy efforts for the Chicago Bicycle Federation and other local bicycle clubs.<ref name="cbf_20080129">{{cite press release |url = http://www.biketraffic.org/content.php?id=1418_0_16_0_C |title = Roll the Tollway raises more than $100,000 for trail, bicycle advocacy |last = O'Hara |first = Margo |date = January 29, 2008 |access-date = January 30, 2008 |publisher = Chicago Bicycle Federation }}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

The initial engineering phase of the bike trail has been completed in the form of the I-355 Area Trails Master Plan, a framework created by Housel Lavigne Associates designed to distribute the work of creating and funding the trail among local communities. The [[Forest Preserve District of Will County]] has begun work on the Veterans Memorial Trail from International Parkway, [[Woodridge, Illinois|Woodridge]], to 135th&nbsp;Street, [[Romeoville]], and will then extend the trail to US&nbsp;6 in the Village of [[New Lenox, Illinois|New Lenox]]. This addition will link the trail to a number of businesses in New Lenox, including a shopping mall currently being constructed, Silver Cross Hospital, and medical offices.<ref name="lafferty"/> The Omnibus Appropriations Act included $470,000 (equivalent to ${{formatnum:{{inflation|US-GDP|470000|2010|r=-3}}}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP}}) in federal funding for construction of the first phase of the trail.<ref>{{cite press release |author = Staff |date = May 4, 2010 |url = http://durbin.senate.gov/showRelease.cfm?releaseId=324668 |title = Durbin Announces Funding for Illinois Bike Trails |publisher = Office of Senator Durbin |access-date = October 2, 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101015034212/http://durbin.senate.gov/showRelease.cfm?releaseId=324668 |archive-date = October 15, 2010 }}</ref>