Construction has started on the three remaining segments of the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, officials said this week, and the state anticipates the entire 93-mile recreation path spanning northern Vermont will be completed this fall.
The trail, which runs along the banks of the Lamoille River and through the spine of the Green Mountains on a route created by the former St. Johnsbury and Lamoille County Railroad, will be the longest rail trail in New England once it’s finished. And, because it follows a former railroad route, it’s mainly level, with only minor uphill grades.
Segments of the trail that have been completed are paved with crushed stone and are open to all nonmotorized uses, and in the winter to snowmobiles.
While about half the total length of the trail has been completed so far, three segments still are under construction, the state Agency of Transportation said:
- About 18.5 miles between Sheldon and Cambridge, expected to be finished this summer.
- About 12.5 miles between Morristown and Hardwick, which should wrap up this fall.
- About 18 miles between Hardwick and Danville, which also should be completed in the fall.
VTrans said work is also planned this summer on bridges along the rail trail in East Fairfield, Bakersfield, Wolcott, Greensboro Bend and Walden.
Last fall, a 6-mile stretch of the trail opened, connecting Sheldon and Highgate, and linking up with the Missisquoi Valley Rail Trail, which runs between St. Albans and Richford.
Construction on the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail got a boost two years ago when the Vermont Legislature approved $2.8 million — augmented by $11.3 million in federal funding — to complete construction of the trail.
Cindy Locke, executive director of the Vermont Association of Snow Travelers, which has worked with VTrans to build the trail, said without that funding, completion of the project would likely remain years away.
The vast majority of the trail’s traffic comes in the summer and fall, she said. In many cases, riders have been an economic asset for the towns the trail passes through.
“It’s an incredibly important trail,” Locke said.
Work on the project has been ongoing since at least 2005.
In Morristown, a segment of the rail trail connecting to Cambridge that’s been open for years has brought in recreational tourists from “all over the country,” said Tricia Follert, the Lamoille County town’s community development coordinator.
She pointed to Riverbend Market, a convenience store in Morristown that’s around the corner from the trail, where the owner reports “phenomenal” sales since the trail opened up, with people stopping in for a water bottle or a snack, she said.
Follert said she also knows of some people who rent homes in Morristown who say easy access to the rail trail is one of their reasons for moving there.
In nearby Wolcott, even though the rail trail hasn’t been completed, officials have taken on multiple projects to make the town more attractive to trail users, according to Kurt Klein, a selectboard member and the community’s project manager.
For instance, Klein said Wolcott has added amenities to its public park over the past few years, including a gazebo, bike rack, benches and picnic tables. He said the rail trail also will intersect with land that town voters have approved for conservation as a community forest, which he hopes will bolster local opportunities for hiking and cycling.
“The town is extremely excited,” Klein said about completion of the rail trail. “We’ve been anticipating this for a long, long time.”
