Pedal coast-to-coast without using a road? New program helps connect trails across the US

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. O'Neil hopes the trail born from eastern Indiana's old railroad tracks will 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, D.C. “As the trail gets longer, more and more people use it,” said O’Neil, who has completed five coast-to-coast bike trips and usually comps the repair costs for out-of-state cyclists visiting his Greenway 500 Bike Shop, which he's owned for nearly two decades. “The number is not as big as we want it to be, but the fact it’s happening is huge,” said Brandi Horton from the Rails to Trails Conservancy. “The administration is understanding in a way we’ve never seen before the role that active transportation has in helping people get around the places where they live.” Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt said active transportation options provide health benefits and are as important as electric vehicles in limiting greenhouse gas emissions. A stand-alone recreational bridge connecting Steubenville, Ohio, and East Steubenville, West Virginia, could cost upwards of $35 million, said Mike Paprocki, executive director of the BHJ Metropolitan Planning Commission, which has studied the project.