California's Bayshore Bikeway, one of San Diego's premier rail-trails. More Information
	For more information about the Spokane bridge project or other trails in the area, please contact RTC's Western Regional Office at 415.397.2220.

RTC to Take Part in 23rd California Trails and Greenways Conference

On the eastern side of Spokane, Wash., a gated iron railroad bridge hunches over the Spokane River. Built in 1911 by the Oregon & Washington Railroad and Navigation Company, the bridge serviced mining areas in the Coeur d'Alene district of Idaho and the northern Bitterroot Mountains of Montana. The line closed in 1973 to make way for the 1974 Spokane World's Fair. Today, a growing collection of local community members, business owners and advocates are working with Rails-to-Trails Conservancy to re-open this historical railroading relic—except this time for pedestrians and bicyclists instead of trains. 

While renovating the bridge alone represents a unique opportunity to re-use and re-invent a piece of Spokane's past, the bridge would also link directly with the popular Spokane River Centennial Trail , a 37-mile rail-trail with more than 1.5 million users a year. Residents on both sides of the river would then have direct, non-motorized access to the Centennial Trail, whose eastern trailhead begins all the way at the Idaho border. The bridge would likewise be a key connector in Spokane's regional trails system, providing a link to the Ben Burr rail-trail and a number of other proposed pathways.

Bridge supporters also promote the project as a potential economic catalyst in nearby communities. "Opening the bridge would provide economic benefits to the surrounding area that is being re-developed, potentially encouraging businesses, employees and residents to move to the city," says Karen Byrd, chair of the Logan Neighborhood Council, one of the communities that the bridge would connect. "This is an example of a great opportunity to improve the pedestrian and bicycle mobility in Spokane, and the Logan Neighborhood has supported this project since 1995."

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy will be working with the City of Spokane, neighborhood groups and local businesses to implement a renovation strategy for the iron bridge. This plan will include identifying potential funding sources to renovate the bridge, ensuring that the bridge's structural soundness is adequately assessed, and developing a long-term maintenance strategy.

For more information, please contact RTC's Western Regional Office at 415.397.2220.