LaSalle County orders aluminum access ramp, readies Caitlin visitor center for summer use

LaSalle County parks staff said the county has ordered an aluminum handicap ramp for the new modular visitor center at Caitlin and expects installation to begin within weeks.

The ramp order and related site work matter because they will complete accessibility improvements and allow the county to open the visitor center for public programming during the summer months.

Ken, a LaSalle County parks staff member, told the Property Committee the county approved an aluminum ramp after evaluating wooden, concrete and metal options and that the supplier has the ramp in stock. "So it'll be shipped out. So you're talking the next couple weeks, they'll start putting that ramp up, maybe even next week," Ken said. He said Illinois Valley will install the ramp and that the concrete parking pad for handicap-compliant parking is a separate expense that was not part of the…