August 18, 2005
HEALEY BREAKS GROUND ON NORWOTTUCK RAIL TRAIL
NORTHAMPTON - Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey today joined Northampton area officials to break ground on the $615,000 project to add another three-quarter of a mile to the Norwottuck bike and pedestrian rail trail.
“In the months ahead, Governor Romney and I will continue to look for additional ways to enhance the Commonwealth’s biking and jogging paths,” Healey said. “Massachusetts is a beautiful state and we want to ensure that every resident and visitor has a chance to enjoy all that the Bay State has to offer.”
The project will convert a stretch of abandoned rail bed between Woodmont Road and Damon Road in Northampton into a multi-purpose paved recreational path. The existing Norwottuck Rail Trail is an 8.5-mile path linking Northampton, Hadley, and Amherst along the former Boston & Maine Railroad right-of-way.
“These rail trails are not just a great recreational opportunity. They are also a great way to get from Point A to Point B,” said Transportation Secretary John Cogliano. “The Romney-Healey Administration have been strong advocates of enhancing the Commonwealth’s bike path network and this is another example in that effort.”
The work also includes the installation of a pedestrian traffic control signal at Damon Road and the removal of the existing abandoned railroad bridge over Woodmont Road. The contractor is Dietz Construction Corp. of Easthampton and the project is expected to be complete by the summer of 2006.
The path's level terrain makes it ideal for pedestrians, wheelchairs, joggers, in-line skaters, bicyclists, and in the winter, cross-country skiers. Motorized vehicles and horses are prohibited from using the rail trail. Both ends of the path offer free parking for trail users – Elwell State Park on Damon Road in Northampton and Station Road in South Amherst.
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