You may have noticed a lot of land clearing around Brooksville in recent weeks. The southwest corner of Cobb Road and 50 as well as areas of Tom Varn Park including from Jefferson Street to the west side of the old golf course are all being cleared by the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to make way for the Good Neighbor Trail connector bike path.
In Nov. 2021, the first leg of this project was completed, creating a bike trail from the Suncoast Parkway to Cobb Road and 50. According to FDOT, the cost of this phase of the project was 356,117.50 and was completed by Watson Civil Construction, Inc.
The southwest corner of Cobb and 50 is being cleared for a bike trail overpass that will land bikers on to West Jefferson St. Then the trail will extend to Tom Varn Park and meander through the park. This part of the bike trail will give bikers the opportunity to bike through downtown Brooksville, where they can partake of city restaurants and activities, then continue on to the Good Neighbor Trail which begins on Russell St.
The other bifurcation of the Good Neighbor Trail connector will allow bikers to travel along the SR 50 bypass across Broad Street/41 and SR50/98 intersections to Jasmine Drive where bikers can then continue onto the Good Neighbor Trail.
The Good Neighbor Trail (roughly 10 miles) then connects to the Withlacoochee State Trail. The trails through Brooksville will fill a gap in the broader Coast to Coast Trail project. According to FDOT records the Good Neighbor Trail connector through Brooksville will cost $19,975,000.00 and the contractor is SEMA Construction, Inc.
