“Danger Bridge,” which crosses Salt Creek in Wilderness Park is soooo close to being finished, I know some of you have not been able to wait. It looks like we’re now only waiting on the cable which will form the railing between the posts. The newly refurbished bridge and trail connects the east and west sides of the park. The reason the new connecting trail from the GPTN bridge to Danger Bridge takes the lower side of the old rail bed is that the old rail bed had to be capped; there was too much coal in it.
So now the inevitable question you may be asking is “where will the Rock Island Trail go next?” I found some clues from the Department of Transportation Hwy 77 Lincoln West Beltway Interchanges Alternative Bicycle Routes Plan, and the 2019 Lincoln Bike Plan, pg. 25. There are plans for a connection to the new neighborhoods springing up like mushrooms west of Highway 77 between Old Cheney and W. Denton Road.
Eventually, the plan is that the trail will connect to Yankee Hill Lake. There’s a tantalizing tail of proposed trail that trails off the bottom of the map away from the Yankee Hill Lake. About that, I have no more information, only curiosity. If anyone knows, please enlighten us.
Also, you’ll notice on the maps that there are some proposed trails and sidepaths along, and branching off of, Pioneers Blvd continuing to Coddington west and to the east providing a crossing at Nebraska Parkway. Two more needed extensions seen here, among many, include the trail on 14th St. south past Yankee Hill St. and the railroad tracks where it will connect to the Jamaica North Trail via an extension across the field at the construction vehicle entrance. The other is between 27th and 14th on Yankee Hill, where riding in traffic can get unpleasant at times. Just today I saw a bobcat clearing what looked like a trail on the south side of Yankee Hill between the new building construction and 14th St. These trails will make our cycling lives easier and safer. As to when they will be completed, I’m sure that depends on funding, and in some cases, probably land acquisition.