The Northeast Texas Trail and Paso del Norte Trail (El Paso County) got a big boost from federal RAISE grants last week when US DOT approved TxDOT’s application for $25 million to be spent between these two projects.
Both trails are part of the long-envisioned Bicycle Tourism Trails Network, which passed the Texas legislature in 2005. BikeTexas worked with then-Senator Rodney Ellis and others to develop and pass this legislation. In response, TxDOT conducted a statewide study to identify high-quality example routes to begin to build out this network. This new grant funding will help complete segments of NETT and Paso del Norte to offer more options for transportation, recreation, and tourism in Northeast Texas and El Paso County. BikeTexas was happy to offer letters of support to US DOT for this grant application and we’re delighted to see this grant money put to work in Texas.
Texas Bicycle Tourism Trails weren’t the only winners in this round of grants: in total, six Texas projects received funding totaling $101.58 million. These projects include:
- Sidewalks, bike lanes, and ADA improvements on Telephone Road in Houston;
- Improving facilities for non-motorized travelers on Commerce Street in Harlingen;
- Expanding safety and transit access along two DART routes in Dallas; and
- Creating pedestrian infrastructure at Ysleta Port of Entry in El Paso.
See the full list of RAISE grantees here. We’re so excited to see this new investment in biking, walking, transit, and ADA access in Texas.