WASHINGTON - Cleveland Metroparks has been awarded a $7.95 million federal transportation grant to build more than four miles of bicycle and pedestrian trails in central Cleveland, including a bridge to connect the existing Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail to the lakefront, according to the office of Rep. Marcy Kaptur.Metroparks' "Reconnecting Cleveland" project will also complete several regional bicycle and pedestrian trails and link to the Erie Canal Towpath Trail, Cleveland Foundation Centennial Trail (CFCT) and Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway, the park network said.The federal grant will pay close to half the project's $16.45 million cost. The rest of  it will come from sources including the state of Ohio, the Cleveland Foundation, and Gund Foundation, says Metroparks CEO Brian Zimmerman. Construction will start along the Cleveland Foundation Centennial trail on August 1 and "come on line very quickly," he said. All the work should be done by 2020, Metroparks officials estimate.To read full story, click here.