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04/19/2016 12:00 AMWalkers, hikers, and bikers may soon have a new trail to blaze. Madison town officials and the Shoreline Greenway Trail are working together to fund and construct a new section of trail near the East River that will link with Guilford. Construction is expected to begin in a few months.
The Shoreline Greenway Trail is a planned, 25-mile continuous path designed for cyclists, walkers, and hikers. Once completed, the trail will span five towns, with Lighthouse Point in New Haven marking one end and Hammonasset State Park in Madison marking the other.
Trail Vice-Chair and chair of the Madison group for the project Virginia Raff said the Hammonasset section of the trail is nearly complete. The group had then intended to construct more trail between Scotland Avenue and Lovers Lane near the town center, but instead is now prioritizing a section near the East River for financial reasons.
“There was never enough funding to do it,” Raff said of the initial proposed section. “The funds are in the hands of the town, so the trail does not have control. The previous administration chose the first location. The trail organization has never been in favor of it. The current administration has agreed that in light of the inadequate funding, it is time to go elsewhere.”
The grant funds that will be used to complete the new section total nearly $800,000. The town had held the money for this project for several years, but First Selectman Tom Banisch said the time to spend is now.
“One of the reasons for making the [location] switch is because the funds were starting to become in jeopardy,” he said. “They had been sitting there for a few years and what was said to me was, ‘If they keep sitting there, the state may just take them back,’ so I said, ‘Well, let’s get going with it.’”
The money will cover planning, design, and construction for the new section according to Raff.
“[Town Engineer] Mike Ott is estimating [we can make a trail] 4,000 feet from the river to Nathan’s Lane,” she said. “Connecting with the section to be built in Guilford from the East River Bridge westward, that would provide almost two miles of continuous trail. The trail’s recommendation is that we go as far as the funds will take us,”
The new section of trail will be very similar to the section already constructed in Hammonasset—an off-road trail that is about 10 feet in width. Raff said this new section will provide Madison with two substantial pieces of trail.
“Madison will have this section connecting to Guilford and the roughly one mile that traverses Hammonasset Park, so we will have bookends at both sides of town and then need to address bringing them together,” she said. “The section in Hammonasset is essentially complete except for a few finishing touches...that will be put over the new park underground utilities when they are installed.”
As for the project timeline, Banisch said the initial steps have already been taken.
“Mike Ott has already gone out to take a look at it and get a feel for what problems might come up,” he said. “It is moving along. I would say that they are probably going to want to get started within a couple of months.”
To learn more about the Shoreline Greenway Trail, visit www.shorelinegreenwaytrail.org.