Omaha, Nebraska – The State of Nebraska will apportion $50 million in federal transportation “alternative” grants to various bicycle and hiking trails, including ones in Omaha, Fremont, and the Sandhills village of Taylor.
These funds represent a notable contribution from the Transportation Alternatives Project (TAP) Federal Grant, the largest to date since the program’s inception in 1991.
Omaha will use the grant to construct a bikeway linking Midtown and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Meanwhile, Fremont plans to leverage the funds for its “FEVR Rail to Trail” project. The village of Taylor, with a population of 140, will develop the “Kevin Brown Educators Memorial Trail” alongside the North Loup River in the Sandhills, enriching the area’s tourism and offering locals a chance to appreciate the region’s unique flora and fauna.
These grant disbursements, overseen by the Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT), are part of the federal program aimed at aiding communities in developing alternate transportation modes. These include creating safe school routes, developing recreational trails, and improving traffic conditions.
NDOT’s director, Vicki Kramer, expressed confidence that these grants would make a significant economic impact on the local communities benefiting from them.
The list of TAP grant recipients also includes the following projects:
- The Cowboy Trail Surfacing from Rushville to mile marker 400, overseen by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
- The Safe Transportation Alternatives project in Fort Calhoun
- The Phase I of the Beatrice Homestead Trail Extension
- The Westside Connecting Trail in South Sioux City
- The Elkhorn River Trail Bridge managed by the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resource District
- The West Connector Trail in Grand Island
- The Schram Spur N-370 Undercrossing and Trail Segment in Papillion
- The Winnebago Childcare Trail and Roundabout, operated by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
- The River Road Connector Trail Project in Blair
- The Western Douglas County Trail
The NDOT also disclosed that the TAP program provides approximately $1.3 billion annually for safety projects across the U.S.
