JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It's time grab some wheels or lace up some running shoes because the Jacksonville Baldwin rail trail is back open for business.
That means cyclists, runners or even skateboarders may be in for a much smoother ride these days.
"I'm doing 54 today, 54 miles, so it's out and back a couple of times,” said Jeff Schroer while in the middle of a ride on the recently re-opened trail.
Schroer has put in thousands of miles on his bike over the years, but, he took a break the past six months while the Baldwin Rail Trail was full of construction crews.
"This is my first week back on the bike, and I'm happy with how fast I'm getting back into shape,” said Schroer.
As far as he rides, Schroer certainly appreciates all the work on the trail.
"You can tell it's a much better surface,” said Schroer. “You don't have to dodge potholes as much."The rail trail was built on top of old railroad tracks running 14 and half miles from Imeson Road in Jacksonville to Baldwin.
At this point, the trail is 30 years old, so it needed some repair and repaving work, so folks like Jeff could ride down it a bit more smoothly. Now that all that has wrapped up, Jacksonville City Councilman Matt Carlucci is excited to shift the focus to the next major trail project.
Carlucci says the city was able to put $135 million from the gas tax to start work on the Emerald Trail, which will connect all throughout the old urban core of Jacksonville.
"There's going to be lakes, greenways, parks,” said Carlucci. “It will connect 16 schools. I think when you bring people together, that really builds a city, and that's what the Emerald Trail will do."
He says the Emerald Trail is still in the engineering phase and it will likely be at least five to ten years before we start to see it take shape.
In the meantime, Schroer can get his miles on the bike in on the rail trail.
A spokesperson for the city of Jacksonville says all the barricades at all the entry points should be gone by now.
Anyone using the trail this weekend may see a few construction crews wrapping up some of the last work, but otherwise, it should be nothing but trail for miles.