NH rail trail supporters upset with new plan diverting trail around Exit 4A
Transportation officials say changes save money, are safe
Transportation officials say changes save money, are safe
Transportation officials say changes save money, are safe
When it's complete someday, the Granite State Rail Trail will be 120 miles long, winding from Salem through Concord and out to Lebanon. But with more than half the trail finished, some aren't happy with the current plans for one section of it.
The trails through Londonderry and Derry are highly popular, but they're not yet connected. About one mile still needs to be paved, with the biggest hurdle at Exit 4A in Derry, where a road is set to become a busy, six-lane access road where the rail trail is set to pass through.
"I'm excited to see the 4A connector being built after 35 years," said Dave Topham, of the New Hampshire Rail Trail Coalition. "I'm not pleased that we currently have a very unsafe design."
In 2019, the Department of Transportation approved a tunnel that would go straight underneath the road. But in order to cut costs, the DOT is going with an alternate plan.
The trail would cross through some yards, cross a road, do a switchback by Shields Brook and then go through a tunnel, saving about $750,000 in the $110 million project.
Topham said the change poses a serious safety risk.
"It would be like taking Route 93 traffic and putting them on a two-lane country road," he said. "One thousand people a day on bidirectional traffic on a 10-foot-wide paved corridor — it just won't work from a safety viewpoint."
The DOT said the new plan meets all safety criteria.
"There's some exaggeration with the safety concerns," said Bill Cass, DOT assistant commissioner. "Safety is our primary concern, as well, and what we laid out is safe."
Once the trail is finished, the town of Derry will maintain it in that area, and the town is backing the new DOT plan.
"On a long-term maintenance basis, it's about a third of the cost to maintain the trail," said David Caron, Derry town administrator. "We think it makes perfect sense for DOT's plan, and we appreciate their cooperation and look forward to the completion of the corridor."
A new rail trail group has formed to fight the Shields Brook proposal. The DOT plan still needs to be approved by the Federal Highway Administration.