Recommended routes for long-conceived bicycle lanes announced

SOUTH BEND, Neb. – Recommended routes for a long-imagined hiking and biking route that would connect Omaha and Lincoln through rural Cass County were unveiled Wednesday.

The route, which is designed to avoid impacting local landowners as much as possible, received both positive and negative reviews during a noon open house at Round The Bend Steakhouse where opinions were gathered.

“It’s going to be beautiful,” said Marilyn Tabor, an avid cyclist who lives northwest of Lincoln.

“It’s a waste of taxpayer money,” said Josh Satterthwaite, who lives near Murdoch and is on one of the routes being considered.

The Lower Platte South Natural Resources District held two open houses Wednesday at noon and evening to gather input on the recommended route for the 10-foot-wide gravel limestone trail after holding several public meetings last spring.

The Nebraska Legislature allocated $8.3 million in 2022 to build a trail to fill an approximately 8-mile gap between Lied Bridge and the Mo-Pac Trail on the North Platte River. Notch, the trail stretches from Lincoln to its terminus near the unincorporated village of Wabash in Cass County.

A recreational trail connecting Omaha to Lincoln, like this connector, has been a dream of Nebraska trail enthusiasts for three decades. If a route is approved by the NRD Board and Cass County Commission, construction could begin in late 2025.

“This is a very exciting investment from the state,” said Cass County Commission Chairman Alex DeGarmo of Greenwood.

He calls it “low-impact” economic development with “high results.”

“It brings people into our town,” DeGarmo said, citing the weekly “Nacho Ride” from Lincoln to a tavern in Eagle, as well as the monthly “Nacho Ride” Pie Ride,” an event where slices of homemade pie are served along the Mopac Trail. Elmwood.

The recommended route affects the fewest homes

The proposed route, marked as preliminary, would extend the Mopac Trail east along the abandoned Missouri Pacific Railroad line from Wabash for one mile before turning north on a gravel country road (334th Street), It then turns back west on Kleiser Road and then north to join a short road to Liedbridge.

Lower Platte South NRD general manager Mike Sousek said the route was recommended because it would have the least impact on existing homes, crossing only nine lanes, compared with 13 to 36 lanes for the other four routes. It’s also one of the shortest options at only 10 miles and the cheapest.

The proposed route for a gravel bike trail connecting Omaha to Lincoln extends east and then north from the current terminus of the Wabash Mo-Pac Trail. (Courtesy of Lower Platte South NRD)

Soucek said the two westernmost north-south routes — along 298th Street and 310th Street — are longer and more expensive.

At the same time, he said the most direct route, 322nd Street from Wabash north, is not recommended because the two stretches of minimum maintenance road along that route are narrow and would require cyclists to share the road with vehicles, creating safety concerns.

This route was identified as Route C and received the highest rating from community members who provided input.

At least one NRD board member, Ray Stevens of Lincoln, said he was interested in a “hybrid” route shown Wednesday that would utilize most of the recommended route but then take a detour to C Line, along a mile of minimum maintenance road, is now closed due to a washed out bridge.

Stevens said this is a more scenic route and deserves further exploration.

Cost estimates higher than expected

Cost emerged as one of the biggest concerns, with construction cost estimates taking into account all four routes, as well as a mix of routes, well above the $8.3 million allocated by the state.

The recommended route, Route D, is expected to cost $15.5 million and Route C is expected to cost $11.7 million. The other two routes are expected to cost US$24 million and US$18 million respectively, with the hybrid route expected to cost US$13.9 million.

A hybrid route for the connector trail was unveiled Wednesday, and a Natural Resources District board member said it should be considered. (Courtesy of Lower Platte South NRD)

NRD officials stressed that cost estimates are very preliminary. This includes an additional 40% contingency due to rising construction costs and a 9% inflation factor. The additional cost of a retaining wall on the trail (mainly built along a fence line that crosses the ditch from a nearby road) and some new bridges also add to the expected cost.

Officials say private donors are expected to fill the funding gap, and there has been significant interest from potential donors.

DeGarmo said there are no plans to provide county funding and no funding has been committed so far.

Private donations expected

When asked whether the state would commit more taxpayer dollars to the project, state Sen. Rob Clements, who represents the proposed trail area and heads the Legislature’s budget-drafting appropriations committee, said flatly means “no”.

One possible route to fill the MoPac Trail gap is along 322 Street through Cass County, which is closed due to bridge closures. State Sen. Rob Clements of Elmwood is pictured picking plums on the roadside with his family. (Paul Hamel/Nebraska Examiner)

Clements is among those who have expressed surprise at the rising cost of the trail.

“I want the trail to have a revenue stream,” the senator said, such as a permit that must be purchased to ride it.

NRD General Manager Sousek said if private donations can’t cover the additional construction costs, the NRD board of directors, which levies property taxes, will have to consider whether to commit any money.

Satterthwaite said he was concerned local taxpayers were pouring money into the connector lines without seeing the benefits to the local community.

Kathy Platt, whose family farm is on the recommended route, said she doesn’t see much need for bike lanes across Cass County and she’s worried about cyclists colliding with farm equipment.

“You just don’t want everyone to be in your place,” she said.

But trail supporters dismiss those concerns and say the crime has nothing to do with the bike trails and only good things will happen once Cass County becomes accessible via trails in Omaha and Lincoln.

“Won’t hurt anything”

Bill Swearingen of Lincoln, who works in the Office of Outdoor Adventures at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said there was a lot of local opposition when the Bohemian Alpine Trail was built north of Lincoln. But once people see the local benefits, concerns disappear, he said.

“It won’t do any harm,” Swearingen said.

Jordan Messerer, president of the Great Plains Trail Network, said change is always difficult and there’s a “not in my backyard” attitude toward many things, including wind farms and new highways attitude.

“When it’s completed, it’s a win for Cass County,” he said.

Messer and Julie Harris of the Nebraska Bike Trail both emphasized that the connector route would make biking safer because it would keep cyclists off the road and minimize crossings.
The pair also emphasized that their primary concern was getting the trail project off the ground and less interested in the long-running debate over the perfect route.

“This has been a long time coming,” Messer said.

Harris added that if more money needed to be raised, she was “very confident” it would happen.

NRD officials said they expect the NRD Board of Commissioners and the Cass County Commission to consider approving a route by the end of October or early November.