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I was curious about this as well. It looks like in some cases, the "trail" is the shoulder of major highways, and the unplanned sections don't show much promise

I was curious about this as well. It looks like in some cases, the "trail" is the shoulder of major highways, and the unplanned sections don't show much promise of solutions. I was hoping that unplanned sections were comprised of tracks (decommissioned or not) and just needed a plan to move forward with. Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be the case. I've watched this program for a while, but I don't know that much about it. I work with permitting agencies for local events, and I cannot fathom the scope of a project like this. Hopefully someone else has better insight.

ghaff 6y ago
>the shoulder of major highways As was discussed a bit last time this story came up, one of the issues is that especially in the West a lot of the best passes through mountain ranges already have major roads and/or rail on them. You might have secondary forest roads/4WD roads and trails but those probably aren't great for any distance biking. So, for example, you do see cyclists on I think I-80 in California which goes over the Donner Pass.
- dboreham 6y ago
  I noticed that the route runs past my place but it's one of those opaque squares presumably because they're not sure how to get over the Bozeman Pass without riding on I-90.
- maxerickson 6y ago
  In a lot of areas, the through routes end up being major highways, mountains or not. Where I live, the numbered US bike routes all follow big highway shoulders that are perfectly rideable and likely to be awful most of the way. The shoulders are wide and the traffic is high. https://www.adventurecycling.org/routes-and-maps/us-bicycle-route-system/ https://www.adventurecycling.org/routes-and-maps/us-bicycle-...
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - ghaff 6y ago
    In many cases, interstates and other major highways are on old railroad right-of-ways. It's very obvious if you look at old maps of, say, Boston. There's still a fairly extensive commuter rail network but other former railroads are now basically the major highways leading into the city.

ghaff 6y ago

>the shoulder of major highways As was discussed a bit last time this story came up, one of the issues is that especially in the West a lot of the best passes through mountain ranges already have major roads and/or rail on them. You might have secondary forest roads/4WD roads and trails but those probably aren't great for any distance biking. So, for example, you do see cyclists on I think I-80 in California which goes over the Donner Pass.

dboreham 6y ago
I noticed that the route runs past my place but it's one of those opaque squares presumably because they're not sure how to get over the Bozeman Pass without riding on I-90.
maxerickson 6y ago
In a lot of areas, the through routes end up being major highways, mountains or not. Where I live, the numbered US bike routes all follow big highway shoulders that are perfectly rideable and likely to be awful most of the way. The shoulders are wide and the traffic is high. https://www.adventurecycling.org/routes-and-maps/us-bicycle-route-system/ https://www.adventurecycling.org/routes-and-maps/us-bicycle-...
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- ghaff 6y ago
  In many cases, interstates and other major highways are on old railroad right-of-ways. It's very obvious if you look at old maps of, say, Boston. There's still a fairly extensive commuter rail network but other former railroads are now basically the major highways leading into the city.