$18 million trail proposal would connect Lincoln & Omaha like never before
It would also be used to complete a massive project that stretches across the entire country
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Bikers are hoping to receive state funding to finish a trail connecting Lincoln and Omaha.
The funding would fill in an 8-mile gap in the MoPac trails in Cass County, and it would also fund parts of the Cowboy Trail in northern Nebraska. It’s not yet known where the funding would come from.
These projects would be part of the Great American Rail-Trail initiative, which is a 3,700-mile connected trail from Washington state to Washington, D.C.
Rail-trails are abandoned railroad lines that are repurposed as pathways.
Julie Harris, the executive director of Bike Walk Nebraska, said, “This is a proven way to give small towns in Nebraska a boost in tourism and hospitality sorely needed as they recover from the pandemic.”
Many advocates for the trail note that biking has become more popular since the beginning of the pandemic.
Sen. Robert Hilkemann of Omaha, who proposed this yesterday, says “This trail is an iconic piece of American infrastructure that will connect thousands of miles of rail-trails, serving tens of millions of people nationally and providing an economic boost for Nebraska towns on the route,” said Hilkemann.
