The Dunes-Kankakee Trail, a proposed new trail that would run mainly in the state right-of-way along Ind. 49, gained the support of the Porter County Council this week.

Porter County Convention, Recreation and Visitor Commission Executive Director Lorelei Weimer and Porter County Plan Commission Executive Director Robert Thompson presented the council with a resolution in support of the trail concept. The resolution passed unanimously.

Weimer said officials who have been working on the proposal are excited about the possibility of adding a trail that would run from the Indiana Dunes to the Kankakee River. She noted that the county has a number of east-west trails, but that the county lacks a north-south trail.

Estimated to cost up to $19 million, the trail would be developed in three phases, with the first phase extending from the Indiana Dunes State Park to the Porter County Expo Center. The final two stages would extend the trail south to Kouts and then to the Kankakee River.

Weimer and Thompson noted that the council’s resolution endorses the project concept, but that the trail backers are not seeking any funding from the county at this time.

The Porter County Commissioners also endorsed the trail resolution last month.