ELMWOOD- Some eyebrows shot up this spring in the Nebraska Legislature when lawmakers approved $8.3 million to complete eight miles of crushed-limestone, bike-hike trail to link recreation trails coming from Omaha and Lincoln.

A recent drive down the proposed route for the trail proved that installing the trail is going to be no easy feat.

Huge downed trees blocked the route at one point, as did head-high weeds. Nearby is an old bridge from the abandoned Rock Island Railroad line. A proposed trail would either have to go under it or on it, or the timber bridge would have to be removed.

Deep ravines and high dirt banks rimmed other portions of the trail.

The link would realize a longtime dream of trail enthusiasts — a continuous trail between the state’s largest cities — and give Nebraska another completed segment on a cross-country bike trail, the Great American Rail Trail.

“We’re finally going to get it done,” said Marie Gregoire of Murdock, a member of the Mo-Pac Alliance, a group of Cass County residents and trail enthusiasts promoting the trail.

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