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Gaps In East Bay Trail To Be Filled With Federal Dollars

MARTINEZ (KCBS) - A popular East Bay trail is getting an infusion of federal money to connect its many gaps and provide users with an unbroken path across a number of towns along the 680 corridor.

The Iron Horse Regional Trail is a network of paved trails in Alameda and Contra Costa County used by thousands to walk and bike between transportation centers, schools and businesses.

KCBS' Dave Padilla Reports:

The East Bay Regional Park District has been awarded $10 million to close gaps in the expansive, 200-mile system.

"What we have to do in order to relieve congestion on our highways and create more livable communities is to get folks out of their cars," said the park district's trails manager, Jim Townsend.

He estimates nearly a million people walk on the existing portions of Iron Horse Trail between Concord and Pleasanton every year, and expects that number to double over the next 15 or 20 years.

The seven projects being undertaken with money from the U.S. Department of Transportation are part of the East Bay Green Transportation Initiative. Townsend said it could create as many as 500 jobs.

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