More area bike paths and connections are planned, aimed at eventually creating a system that runs to Yale University.
The Manhan Rail Trail construction at South Street in Easthampton will continue the trail to Coleman Road in Southampton.EASTHAMPTON – Officials from the city and its many neighboring communities envision a future in which one can walk or bike on a trail from Northampton all the way to New Haven, Conn.
As work on the Manhan Rail Trail continues, that dream is slowly but surely coming true.
A three-quarter-mile extension of the Manhan is underway and could be completed this year, linking South Street in Easthampton and Coleman Road in Southampton, where the trail would end. More area bike paths and connections are planned, aimed at eventually creating a system that runs to Yale University.
Southampton is looking at public reaction, funding and land acquisition options for a trail of its own that might meet up with the Manhan, said Town Administrator Diana Schindler. She said people are now more supportive of a trail than they were when it was first proposed in the 1990s.
If Westfield links with that trail, the system could connect to the New Haven-Northampton Canal, a former railroad that is being converted into a rail trail. Once that conversion is complete, and if Southampton’s plans come to fruition, Easthampton residents and their neighbors can bike, largely uninterrupted, almost to the Atlantic Ocean.
Bike trail advocate and author Craig P. Della Penna of Northampton said that could take about four years.
“It opens up all sorts of possibilities, not only for the trail but for commercialization,” said Easthampton mayor Michael A. Tautznik. “For many people, these serve as genuine transportation corridors.”
Crews have cleared the Manhan extension site, removing trees, soil and railroad ties. A sewer line is set to be installed under the trail, which will cost the city about $130,000, said Tautznik.
Ludlow Construction Co., Inc., began the work this summer with $725,210 in Massachusetts Department of Transportation funding. MassDOT’s original estimate was $1.18 million.
City planner Stuart Beckley said “the contractor is optimistic it will be done in the fall” although the contract calls for completion in the spring.
“I think the work is going at a good rate and they haven’t run into very much unforeseen,” said Tautznik.
Work on the extension was slated to start in 2002, but a 1,000-foot stretch was contaminated with asbestos from a former Zonolite attic insulation plant on Wemelco Way. A bankruptcy court ordered the plant’s former owner, W.R. Grace & Co., to pay for the clean-up, which was done last fall.
Beckley said a bridge will span the Manhan River off Lovefield Street, further connecting the city to Northampton’s Norwottuck Rail Trail. That $830,000 project is also underway and is funded by federal and state highway money.
The Norwottuck is part of the Mass Central Rail Trail that will cover 104 miles to Boston within 10 years, said Della Penna. The Norwottuck also links Hadley and Amherst, and branches into Belchertown and Williamsburg.