TEA - Bill for $1.6 million dollars for Johnston County - Neuse River Trail/MST

During the last week of July, Congress passed a new multi-year federal surface transportation law that includes significant funding for trails. Known as SAFETEA-LU—Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users—the measure provides a total $286.4 billion for road, transit, trails, and related programs through September 30, 2009. Of note for hikers, this includes roughly $3.5 billion over five years for Transportation Enhancements, $370 million over five years for the Recreational Trails Program (RTP), and funding for a host of other programs and projects related to the outdoors.

Trail organizations and local agencies across the country will able to apply for funding for a variety of trail projects through the Transportation Enhancements and RTP programs. The new law also includes other “high priority” project funding for community trails throughout the nation such as the Mountains to Sea Trail in North Carolina, San Francisco Bay Trail in California, and Great Allegheny Passage in Pennsylvania.

The former surface transportation law, TEA-21, was originally due to expire in September 2003, but Congress took two years to complete SAFETEA-LU largely because of differences in total spending for the new law. The House and Senate compromised on many programs during recent conference negotiations to reach agreement and complete SAFETEA-LU. American Hiking thanks its members, partners and other supporters who wrote and called their legislators during the last two years to urge strong funding for trails. For more information, see the Conference Report, and check back on American Hiking’s website www.americanhiking.org/policy soon for additional details.