From an Adventure Cycling Association press release:
The first new official routes in almost 30 years herald growing momentum for U.S. Bicycle Route System
Missoula, Montana — Adventure Cycling Association and the American Association of Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) today announced that AASHTO’s Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering has approved six new U.S. Bicycle Routes (USBR): USBR 1 in Maine and New Hampshire, USBR 20 in Michigan, and USBR 8, 95, 97, and 87 in Alaska — the first official U.S. Bicycle Routes to be established since 1982.
There are no Virginia routes on this list, but there could be. We’re working to identify new corridors. (Expect an announcement soon.)
Mostly we’ve been working to improve USBR 76 and USBR 1, in partnership with VDOT, AASHTO, and Adventure Cycling:
The Virginia DOT has been working over the past year to update their U.S. Bicycle Routes, submitting two applications for realignment in the fall of 2010. This spring, they updated sections of USBR 1 and USBR 76, and last week, AASHTO’s Special Committee on U.S. Route Numbering also approved these realignments.
“We are taking advantage of emerging bicycle infrastructure as it becomes available, and making adjustments out of necessity in order to provide safer alternatives,” said Liz McAdory, policy and planning specialist for the DOT. “We are also working with our districts to continue to sign our existing two U.S. Bicycle Routes — 1 and 76. Our department has a long-standing working relationship with bicycle advocates, especially the Virginia Bicycling Federation. Through this partnership, we’ve been able to identify necessary changes and update the routes, and will continue to do so.” USBR 76 is also known as the TransAmerica Trail, the first mapped cross-continental cycling route in the U.S., produced by Adventure Cycling in 1976.
Last year, our Cross-State Riders carefully documented all 570 miles of USBR 76 in Virginia, from the Kentucky border to Yorktown. This year they’re doing it from the other direction. Proposed route changes and updates were drawn from our riders’ observations. We’re planning to do the same next year, with USBR 1.
To help us continue this work, please donate $10, or more, to the US Bicycle Route System fundraising campaign.
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