Recommended route unveiled for long-envisioned bike trail to link Omaha and Lincoln
Staffers from the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District answered questions during two open houses Wednesday about a recommended route of a connector bike trail linking Omaha and Lincoln. (Paul Hammel for the Nebraska Examiner)
SOUTH BEND, Nebraska – A recommended route was unveiled Wednesday for a long-envisioned hike-bike trail that will link Omaha with Lincoln across rural Cass County.
The route, which seeks to avoid impacting local landowners as much as possible, got both positive and negative reviews during a noon-time open house to gather input at the Round The Bend Steakhouse.
“It’s going to be beautiful,” said Marilyn Tabor, an avid cyclist who lives northwest of Lincoln.
“It’s a waste of taxpayer dollars,” said Josh Satterthwaite, who lives near Murdock on one of the routes that was considered.
The Lower Platte South Natural Resources District held two open houses Wednesday, at noon and in the evening, to gather input on the recommended route of the 10-foot-wide, crushed limestone trail after holding several public meetings last spring.
They came after the Nebraska Legislature, in 2022, allocated $8.3 million toward the construction of a trail to fill a gap of about eight miles between the Lied Bridge over the Platte River on the north and the Mo-Pac Trail, which extends from Lincoln to its terminus near the unincorporated village of Wabash in Cass County.
A recreation trail that connects Omaha and Lincoln, as this connector would do, has been a dream of Nebraska trail enthusiasts for three decades. If a route is approved by both the NRD board and the Cass County Board, construction could begin in late 2025.
“It’s a very exciting investment from the state,” said Alex DeGarmo of Greenwood, chairman of the Cass County Board.
He called it “low impact” economic development “with high results.”
“It brings people into our small towns,” DeGarmo said, citing the weekly “Nacho Ride” from Lincoln to a tavern in Eagle, and a monthly “Pie Ride” in which slices of homemade pie are served along the Mo-Pac Trail in Elmwood.
Recommended route affects fewest residences
The recommended route, which was labeled preliminary, would extend the Mo-Pac Trail an additional mile eastward from Wabash down an abandoned Missouri Pacific Railroad line, then turn northward on a gravel, country road – 334th Street – before shifting back west on Kleiser Road and then north to connect with a short trail that leads to the Lied Bridge.
Mike Sousek, the general manager of the Lower Platte South NRD, said that route was recommended because it impacts the fewest existing residences, crossing only nine driveways compared to 13 to 36 for the other four routes. It is also among the shortest options, at 10 miles, and the least costly.
Sousek said the two north-south routes furthest west – along 298th Street and 310th Street – were longer and more expensive.
Meanwhile, the most direct route, on 322nd Street northward from Wabash, was not recommended, he said, because two segments of minimum maintenance road on that route are narrow and would require cyclists to share the road with vehicles, creating safety issues.
That route, identified as Alignment C, got the highest rating from the community members who provided input.
At least one member of the NRD board, Ray Stevens of Lincoln, said he is intrigued by a “hybrid” route that was displayed Wednesday that would utilize most of the recommended route but then detour onto Alignment C, following a mile of minimum maintenance road that is closed now because of a bridge that washed out.
It’s a more scenic route, Stevens said, that should be explored further.
Cost estimates higher than anticipated
Cost emerged as one of the prime concerns raised, with all four alignments considered, as well as the hybrid route, getting construction cost estimates well above the $8.3 million allocated by the state.
The recommended route, Alignment D, was estimated to cost $15.5 million to build, with Alignment C projected at $11.7 million. The two other routes were projected to cost $24 million and $18 million, respectively, with the hybrid route estimated at $13.9 million.
NRD officials emphasized that the cost estimates were very preliminary. They included an additional 40% contingency in the event of rising construction costs and a 9% inflation factor. Additional expenses for retaining walls on the trail – which will be built mostly along the fence lines across the road ditch from the nearby road – and some new bridges, also raised the expected cost.
Officials said that private donors are being counted on to cover the fund gap and that there has been great interest from potential contributors.
DeGarmo said there are no plans to provide county funds, and none have been devoted so far.
Private donations anticipated
State Sen. Rob Clements, who represents the area of the proposed trail and who heads the Legislature’s budget-drafting Appropriations Committee, gave a flat “no” when asked if the state might devote more taxpayer funding to the project.
Clements was among those who expressed surprise at the rising cost of the trail.
“I wish the trail had a revenue stream,” the senator said, such as a license that had to be purchased to ride it.
Sousek, the NRD general manager, said that if private donations don’t cover the additional construction costs, the NRD board – which levies a property tax – would have to consider whether to devote any funds.
Satterthwaite said he’s concerned that local taxpayers will be devoting money to the connector trail without seeing benefits to local communities.
Kathy Platt, whose family farm is on the recommended route, said she doesn’t see a great demand for a bike trail across Cass County, and she is concerned about cyclists colliding with farm equipment.
“You just don’t want everybody at your place,” she said.
But trail supporters rejected those concerns, saying that crime is not connected with bike trails and only good things can occur for Cass County once it’s accessible via a trail from both Omaha and Lincoln.
‘Not going to hurt anything’
Bill Swearingen of Lincoln, who works with the Outdoor Adventures office at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said there was a lot of local opposition when the Bohemian Alps Trail was built north of Lincoln. But, he said, concerns melted away once people saw the local benefits.
“It’s not going to hurt anything,” Swearingen said.
Change is always difficult, and there is a “not in my back yard” attitude about a lot of things, including wind farms and new freeways, said Jordan Messerer, the president of the Great Plains Trail Network.
“This is a win for Cass County when it gets built,” he said.
Both Messerer and Julie Harris of Bike-Walk Nebraska emphasized that the connector trail will make biking safer, because it will keep cyclists off the road and minimize crossings.
Both also emphasized that they’re most concerned about getting the trail project underway and less interested in extended debate over the perfect route.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Messerer said.
Harris added that if additional funds need to be raised, she’s “very confident” that will happen.
NRD officials said they expect the NRD board and the Cass County Board to consider approval of a route by late October or early November.
