Two trails in Pinellas, one in Hernando score state funding

Two Pinellas County trails and one in Hernando County were among 45 projects across Florida awarded funding Tuesday in the first round of the state's Shared Use Nonmotorized Trail program.

Of the $44 million total awarded across 21 counties, $5.7 million will fund phase 2 of the Pinellas Trail Loop from John Chesnut Sr. Park to Enterprise Road in East Lake.

The Florida Department of Transportation also will provide $1.36 million to complete the overpass connecting the Courtney Campbell Causeway Trail to the Bayshore section of the Ream Wilson Clearwater Trail.

The Ream Wilson trail currently ends in Clearwater at the intersection of Bayshore Boulevard and Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard.

The Good Neighbor Trail Connector in Brooksville will receive $475,358 for the segment between West Suncoast Parkway to State Road 50 and Cortez Boulevard.

All SUN Trail program projects are part of the developing statewide system of paved multiuse trails for bicyclists and pedestrians physically separated from vehicular traffic, according to a news release.