Ashland, Nebraska, a small town of about 2,800 people tucked between Lincoln and Omaha along I-80, is getting a pedestrian underpass that will let trail users cross beneath a road safely rather than navigating a dangerous at-grade intersection on one of the state's most-used recreational corridors.
The project targets the MoPac Trail, a roughly 28-mile rail-trail conversion that draws cyclists, runners, and walkers from both metro areas. Where the trail meets a roadway, users currently must cross at grade, a conflict point that safety researchers consider among the most hazardous on shared-use paths. The new underpass will eliminate that conflict entirely.
Federal transportation officials awarded Ashland $478,173 for the project through the Federal Highway Administration's Highway Planning and Construction program, administered in Nebraska by the state Department of Transportation. The total project cost runs to roughly $597,000, with Ashland responsible for around $120,000 in local matching funds, a significant commitment for a town whose municipal budget doesn't leave much room for infrastructure at this scale.
The investment reflects a broader national push to protect pedestrians and cyclists as fatalities among those groups have climbed sharply. The Governors Highway Safety Association reported more than 7,500 pedestrian deaths in 2022, a 40-year high, and federal policy has responded with increased funding for exactly this kind of safety infrastructure. The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law boosted active transportation funding substantially, and the Transportation Alternatives Program that likely supported this award is one of the primary mechanisms for getting those dollars to local communities.
For Ashland, the underpass does double duty. It improves safety and also removes a barrier that discourages less confident riders and families from completing the trail. The MoPac is a meaningful economic asset for small towns along its corridor, bringing visitors who stop to eat, shop, and explore. Projects like this one have helped Nebraska's trail network earn bipartisan support even in politically conservative rural counties, where trail tourism has become a quiet engine of local commerce. Similar federal investments have advanced trail projects in other states, including a long-delayed trail in New Hampshire's White Mountains.
The award was posted April 14, 2026. Construction timing has not been publicly announced, but federal-aid highway projects of this type typically move through design and environmental review before breaking ground.
