Photo / NEBRASKAland Magazine and Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
The Cowboy Trail, which traverses northern Nebraska, was one of the recipients of a federal grant recently. It is pictured here near Valentine.
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Paul Hammel
Nebraska Examiner
Bike/hike trails in Fremont, Omaha and even the small Sandhills village of Taylor will share in $50 million in federal transportation “alternative” grants.
Funds will help build a bikeway connecting Midtown Omaha and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and Fremont’s “FEVR Rail to Trail” project.
In Taylor, population 140, the “Kevin Brown Educators Memorial Trail” is planned along the North Loup River in the Sandhills for tourists and local residents to enjoy the local wildflowers and wildlife.
According to the Nebraska Department of Transportation, it was the largest amount given to Nebraska via the Transportation Alternatives Project (TAP) Federal Grant since the program was created in 1991. The program is designed to help communities fund alternate modes of transportation, such as safe routes to school, recreational trails and traffic improvements.
Vicki Kramer, NDOT’s director, said the TAP grants will make “a significant impact on the local communities and their economies.”
Other projects receiving TAP grants were:
- Cowboy Trail Surfacing, Rushville to mile marker 400, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
- Connecting Fort Calhoun with Safe Transportation Alternatives, City of Fort Calhoun
- Beatrice Homestead Trail Extension – Phase I, City of Beatrice
- Westside Connecting Trail, City South Sioux City
- Elkhorn River Trail Bridge, Papio-Missouri River Natural Resource District
- Grand Island West Connector Trail, City of Grand Island
- Schram Spur N-370 Undercrossing and Trail Segment, City of Papillion
- Winnebago Childcare Trail and Roundabout, Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
- River Road Connector Trail Project, City of Blair
- Western Douglas County Trail, Douglas County
The NDOT said that TAP provides roughly $1.3 billion each year for safety projects throughout the U.S.
