MISSOULA, Mont. (BRAIN) — The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) has added 800 miles of designated bike routes to its U.S. Bicycle Route System.
The additional routes were announced by Adventure Cycling Association, which has dedicated staff support to the project since 2005.
The new sections of the bike route system are in Massachusetts, Washington, Ohio, Illinois and the District of Columbia. All told, the system now designates 6,790 miles of bike routes across the country. The goal is to designate 50,000 miles.
"AASHTO is dedicated to providing travelers with access to safe and reliable transportation systems no matter how many wheels their vehicle(s) use," said Bud Wright, AASHTO's executive director. "We're pleased to see that four states and the District of Columbia are this year helping to grow the nation's bike route system by more than 800 miles, giving citizens more travel and recreation options."
The new sections:
- U.S. Bicycle Route 1 in Massachusetts (20 miles), comprising the Paul Dudley White Bicycle Path along the Charles River through Boston, Cambridge, Watertown, and Newton, along with the Northern Strand Community Trail to the north of Boston.
- U.S. Bicycle Route 10 in Washington State (407 miles). USBR 10 is 407-mile route that follows the northern, cross-state highway corridor, State Route 20, from Newport, Wash., at the Idaho border, to Anacortes, Washington's international ferry terminal.
- U.S. Bicycle Route 50 in Ohio (313.3 miles). USBR 50 begins at the Indiana border in Preble County, Ohio, and leaves Ohio in Steubenville, where the Market Street Bridge crosses into West Virginia. Ohio's segment of USBR 50 is the state's first U.S. bicycle route designation. USBR 50 will eventually connect Washington DC to San Francisco.
- U.S. Bicycle Route 36 and 37 in Illinois (72.6 miles). U.S. Bicycle Routes 36 and 37 follow the Lake Michigan coastline from the Indiana border to the Wisconsin border.
- U.S. Bicycle Route 50 in DC (3.6 miles). A 3.6-mile extension of USBR 50 will expand the route designation of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (C&O Canal) towpath from Maryland into the District of Columbia, at the doorstep of the historic Georgetown neighborhood.
