When Mike O'Neil opened his bicycle repair shop in Muncie, Indiana, the Cardinal Greenway trail just outside its window stretched only 2 miles south of the shop. Today, it extends 33 miles beyond that, but the ultimate vision is far grander. The trail born from eastern Indiana's old railroad tracks is to eventually become a central cog in the proposed Great American Rail-Trail—a continuous network of walking and biking routes spanning from Washington state to Washington, DC, the AP reports. The Biden administration was set to open applications Tuesday for a new grant program that for the first time prioritizes not just building trails but connecting the existing ones.
The 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law allowed for as much as $1 billion over five years for the program, but Congress has authorized less than $45 million so far. Still, trail activists say the commitment is almost as important as the dollar figure. Officials are expecting a highly competitive grant process, including applications from many of the communities along the planned route of the 3,700-mile Great American Rail-Trail. While the ambitious project currently includes more than 125 completed trails across 12 states and the nation's capital, significant gaps remain—particularly in rural Western states such as Montana and Wyoming.
Railroad tracks establish most of the key arteries for the Great American Rail-Trail, but many of the proposed connectors present unique challenges. For example, Ohio and West Virginia have made progress toward completing their trail networks, but the Ohio River separating them is a potentially costly obstacle for both states. A recreational bridge connecting Steubenville, Ohio, and East Steubenville, West Virginia, could cost upwards of $35 million. Advocates like O'Neil are hopeful the logistics will all get ironed out. "It would be a wonderful blessing to have it all connected," he says. (Read the full AP story here.)
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