Bikers, in-line skaters and walkers won't have to hassle with oncoming cars and slow traffic light signals when using the Prairie Trail Bike Path at Rakow Road.

Months after the initial installation, the multi-use Prairie Trail  pedestrian bridge in Crystal Lake opened late Thursday.

On Friday morning, cyclists were using the new overpass, and the former pathway that required people to cross in front of Rakow and Pyott road traffic was blocked off.

The new bridge, installed in January as part of the two-year-long Rakow Road improvement project, towers above the traffic.

The climb from the Crystal Lake side of the bridge is steep. While the path incline from the Lake in the Hills direction, across from the Lake in the Hills Airport, is not as high.

The McHenry County Conservation District maintains the 26-mile Prairie Trail, which links with the bike path in Kane County to the south, and travels north to the Wisconsin border.

The multi-use path provides access to the Fox River Trail, the Great Western Trail and the Illinois Prairie Path.