CONWAY, Arkansas — On Wednesday, the City of Conway announced they received a $25 million dollar grant to create a new trail system.
The grant, which came from the United States Department of Transportation will be used to build the Connect Conway greenway trail.
It's been four years in the making and it's one of the biggest grants the city has ever received.
"It makes us very connected. I think it's going to have a good economic impact on Conway," said Conway Mayor, Bart Castleberry.
The new trail will be 15 miles long and will connect already existing paths from the east side to the west side of the city.
"People who perhaps don't have transportation can walk, can ride their bikes, kids can ride their bikes to school safely," said Shelley Mehl, the councilwoman for Ward 2.
Ward 2 is a part of the east side of Conway. As Mehl worked on the grant, she was able to show just how deserving the city is of this expansion.
"Conway can compete with any city in the nation. We believe in ourselves and what our city can be," said Mehl.
As a part of the grant, the money must be spent by 2031.
U.S. Representative of Arkansas, French Hill spoke at the announcement on Thursday and said in a statement, “Over the past four years my office has worked with the city of Conway to fine-tune its grant application and I’m delighted that hard work has persevered, and now the Connect Conway vision is one step closer to reality."