SHELBYVILLE - Building a bike trail in his hometown has been a longtime dream for Jerry Yockey.

"Whenever we vacation, we vacation where there are trails," Yockey said. "It just seemed logical to me that we would have a trail here around beautiful Lake Shelbyville."

Yockey was joined by more than 50 community members at Forest Park on Thursday morning to celebrate the grand opening of the General Dacey Trail.

The trail begins behind the scout cabin at Forest Park and extends almost eight-tenths-mile to a boat ramp parking lot on Ninth Street. Construction could begin in spring for an extension of more than 1.25 miles, and that could be just the beginning.

"This bike trail is really a regional trail," said Andrea Lewis, operations manager for Lake Shelbyville.

Plans call for a trail network of about 170 miles.

"It may never get built, but we're hoping it will," Lewis said. "This is certainly the first stage of it, hopefully connecting all of our recreation areas around the lake as well as connecting all of the communities to those areas and providing benefits for the region.

"We're also hoping that someday they can connect this trail to existing bike trails coming out of Pana and the Mattoon area. We're looking at a big picture here."

Lake officials have received inquiries about the trail from as far as Utah and West Virginia, Lewis said.

The trail is named in honor of Maj. Gen. Robert Dacey, who served as supervising engineer during the construction of Lake Shelbyville.

State Rep. Bob Flider, D-Mount Zion, praised cooperative efforts to build the trail among many groups, including the Army Corps of Engineers, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Shelby County and the city of Shelbyville.

Flider has held summits in recent years to encourage regional cooperation in marketing Lake Shelbyville.

"This project is the epitome of people working together," Flider said.

The project has received grant funds through the state department of natural resources and relies on donations and volunteer work, Yockey said.

The trail already is getting plenty of use, said Noel Bolinger, a commissioner for Shelbyville City Council.

"It is used a lot all day long by walkers and bikers and all kinds of people," Bolinger said. "It is a really good asset to the citizens who live here, the tourists and everyone else."

Mike Frazier can be reached at mfrazier@ herald-review.com or 421-7985.