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Congress is considering an updated Surface Transportation Act, and Utah communities say walking, biking and hiking trails throughout the state could be set back by potential changes.

Current Biden-era funding expires this September.

Mike Christensen, executive director of the Utah Rail Passengers Association, said the state has both a Republican governor and supermajority in its Legislature, but there's still strong bipartisan support for hiking and cycling infrastructure. He said federal funding cuts could endanger those plans.

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"The timing is really bad," he said. "A couple of years ago, our governor instituted a plan to add 1,000 miles of bike trails through Utah. This is something that would make it a lot harder to implement that vision."

Walking paths are also a safety issue. According to data from the national Governors’ Highway Association, pedestrian deaths have reached a 40-year high, with more than 7,500 people killed annually by drivers while walking.

Utah offers a massive range of trails, from world-famous mountain biking in Moab to the newly developed Utah Trail Network, a statewide master plan for paved multi-use paths designed to connect neighborhoods across every corner of the state.

Christensen said it has one of the fastest-growing outdoor economies in the country.

"The vision is having separated, comfortable, safe bike paths that go all throughout the state and would connect to rural areas," he said. "So it would be possible to be able to ride your bike pretty much anywhere in the state."

Utah's outdoor recreation economy generates almost $10 billion in economic impact throughout the state and supports more than 70,000 jobs.