Village of Channahon employees and trustees gathered with local elected officials on Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the official opening of the I&M Canal Gateway at 25450 W. Eames St.

Village President Missey Moorman Schumacher said the improvements to the canal’s surroundings in the village are particularly exciting for her.

“The I&M Canal Trail is my home,” Moorman Schumacher said. “I have spent my whole life along this trail. A mile one way is my childhood home, and a half a mile that way is where I currently live.”

Moorman Schumacher even made sure she walked to the ribbon-cutting.

The project, which was funded by diesel taxes collected from gas stations in the village, now has bike racks, water fountains, a water bottle-filling station and a pavilion with extra seating to go along with a freshly repaved portion of the walking and biking trail.

“I’ve said 100 times that I want to build bike paths and connect everything so you can go from one end of Channahon to the other at all points without ever getting into a vehicle,” Moorman Schumacher said. “This is a huge step in that direction.”

Moorman Schumacher also pointed out that the village sign at the trailhead has purple coneflowers, the village’s official flower. Just beyond that is a pad that Moorman Schumacher said will be for an art installation.

She said the village created an Arts and Culture Commission last fall, which is having its first fundraiser at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24, at the Four Rivers Environmental Education Center, 25055 S. Walnut Lane.