CHENOA - U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin stood beside Old Route 66 on Thursday to announce a $300,000 grant for the town of Chenoa to convert about three miles of the highway's aging surface to a bike trail.

Officials from government and bicycle advocacy groups hope the small section will eventually be part of a proposed 370-mile Route 66 Trail across Illinois.

The goal is to enhance the status of what John Steinbeck called "The Mother Road" as an international tourist attraction.

Short sections of the longer trail already pass through Lexington and Towanda in Central Illinois. McLean County planners also hope to redo a stretch from McLean to Bloomington.

Supporters envision a time when the completed Route 66 Trail will connect with local bike paths like Cook County's extensive biking system and Constitution Trail, a popular linear park created from a former railroad right-of-way through the Twin Cities.

"I've tried in small pieces to extend bike trails," said Durbin, a Democrat from Springfield who chairs the Senate Bike Caucus. "It's a great way to see Illinois. It's a great way to exercise, which we all need once in a while. It's a great family activity and a great sport."

Durbin, who said he rides weekly, said the Senate recently headed off an attempt to cut $12 million for bike trails from the federal budget.

"I think people understand this is an investment that's worth it," he said.

Jayne Zeller, a former Chenoa commissioner of streets and a bicyclist, wrote the application leading to the federal grant which will be administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation. She credited Chenoa Mayor Walt Hetman with the original idea to create a place for town residents to ride bikes, jog and walk that would attract tourist dollars from outside the community.

"Step number one is getting them (tourists) to stop," Zeller said.

"What we know today is that people are already biking Route 66," added Dick Westfall, manager of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources greenways and trails section. "The concept for the Route 66 Trail is to create momentum so local trails like Chenoa's can get off the ground and gain some 'oomph' from being a part of a larger system."

Donovan Gardner, 75, a Pontiac city councilman and long-distance cyclist who chairs the Route 66 Trail Executive Committee, has witnessed what trails have done for local economies in neighboring states like Wisconsin and Missouri.

"Some of those communities wouldn't be there if it wasn't for a trail," Gardner said. "People stop, eat, shop. … It's a significant part of tourism and economic development."

"The information that has come out of DNR and IDOT indicates there is a tremendous potential for tourism," agreed Doug Oehler, a member of the McLean County Wheelers bike club and the executive committee of the League of Illinois Bicyclists. "If there is a true bike path, they think it could be phenomenal."

Illinois officials are working on a cost estimate to complete the entire Route 66 Trail. Meanwhile, Donovan said his group is making certain bike-friendly shoulders are added whenever a section of Old Route 66 is repaired.

He said cyclists also can ride portions of Route 66 that remain passable and township and county roads that run adjacent to the main highway. Together, they create an interim Route 66 Trail.

The League of Illinois Bicyclists has posted directions online at www.bikelib.org.