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- Category: Past Issues
River trail
extension
underway
By Linda Lemmon
Town Crier Editor
PUTNAM --- After a couple hiccups, the lengthening of the River Trail is advancing.
The long-awaited extension to the River Trail, running from the pedestrian bridge to the new Riverview Marketplace, should be completed by the end of spring, according to Community Development Director Delpha Very.
The project endured some fits and starts --- the plan had to be scaled down after all the bids for the project came in too high, but it's on track now.
Very said the town's Department of Public Works has already removed some trees along the Quinebaug River, in preparation for the River Trail extension.
The town is using a state Department of Environmental Protection Greenways program grant to lengthen the trail by some 1,300 feet.
Some drainage issues will be addressed before the grub work along the shoreline and trail will take place. A "slow filtration" system will replace the swales that send runoff pell-mell down the banks and into the Quinebaug. Erosion and sediment control must be finished before the trail is installed.
Because the bids came in higher than the $72,000 available, Very said some adjustments were made to the trail extension project. The width of the trail was reduced from 8 feet across to 6 feet across. The light fixtures along the trail have been eliminated and she may look for another grant to install lights in the future. Fencing and railing along the trail, where it runs near Kennedy Drive, will be erected to keep walkers, and bikers safer.