State gives Council Bluffs project all its trail money

The State Transportation Commission has approved just over one million dollars for a bike/pedestrian trail project linking Iowa and Nebraska. Department of Transportation Trails Coordinator Nancy Burns says the “Iowa Riverfront Trail Project” will cross the Missouri River and is a part of the national “America’s Trails” program. The trail is a joint project between the cities of Council Bluffs and Omaha, and the states of Iowa and Nebraska. Burns says the project will receive the state’s entire allotment for trails this year — something that’s not often done. A federal grant will match the money Iowa’s kicking in for the trail. Burns says officials felt it was worth it to put all the money into the trailBurns says there were 20 other projects with a total request of over eight million dollars.Burns says the bridge across the Missouri is under design right now, and it will be a couple of years before they start constructing the trail.