(From the Napa Register)

The Napa Valley Vine Trail will be receiving $2.5 million in federal transportation funding for a bike trail between Napa and Yountville, Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena announced Friday.

The money will be used to construct the Solano Avenue section of the trail between north Napa and Yountville.

The project is already under design, with the prospect that construction could start next year, said Paul Price, executive director of the Napa County Transportation and Planning Agency.

Once completed, the Vine Trail will span 44 miles — from Calistoga to the Vallejo Ferry Building — giving pedestrians and bicyclists across the valley a clean and reliable form of transportation.

“The Napa Valley Vine Trail is exactly the kind of smart, targeted investment that will strengthen our economy while improving the quality of life in our local communities,” Thompson said in a statement. “Thanks to the generosity of the Department of Transportation and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, we’re one step closer to making this forward-thinking transportation project a reality.”

Friday’s announcement comes less than three months after Thompson and LaHood toured the Yountville Mile section of the trail, which was officially opened to the public earlier this year.

Vine Trail organizers say that the funding will go a long way toward to the goal of linking the city of Napa with Yountville in the north. (read more…)