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Bike-Walk Alliance of NH ==
Windham
Rail Trail now open
Grand Opening on September 16 with NH Governor John Lynch
Thanks to a lot of hard work by Mark Samsel, Wayne Morris, Dianna Fallon, and John Mangan of the Windham Rail Trail Alliance plus funding and contruction by local Windham developers, the first section of the Salem to Manchester rail trail is now paved and available for use by cyclists, walkers, joggers, those in wheelchairs, and horseback riders. A 10-foot paved trail plus a hard-packed dirt sidepath goes from North Lowell Road in Windham (near the Citgo station and Derry town line) to Roulston Road at the Salem end. Once the new Route 111 by-pass consruction is done, the trail will continue to the Salem line (behind Cycles Etc.) at the existing Route 111 and Route 28 intersection. The total length of this Windham Rail Trail will be 4.1 miles with about 3.4 miles presently open. Local residents can access the trail from existing roads while those driving to the trail can park at the old Windham Depot on Depot Road. This trail can be a model for the rest of the Salem-Manchester rail trail plus for other projects in the discussion or design stages. And this Windham trail was created without any state or federal money! Check out some new photos as supplied by Dale Knapschaefer of Manchester. A press release from Mark Samsel announcing the Grand Opening plans for September 16 is available here.
The background of this project goes back about three years. Details are available on the Northeast Greenway Solutions web site www.greenwaysolutions.org but for quick reference a PDF file can be viewed on this site. The Windham Rail Trail Alliance has their own web site at www.windhamrailtrail.org so please visit it for more information, photos, map of the trail, and directions to the Windham Depot trail head.
As of June 28, the final coat of pavement had not been applied to the trail and one bridge was not paved at all. Even so, the surface of the trail was better than most of our roads and the scenery is great! About 3.3 miles of the trail goes through the woods without a single cross-road or intersection. Mitchell Pond, beaver dams, cuts through granite, stone retaining walls, and an elevated section provide great viewing and without any noise from nearby traffic or business. You will wonder how the original railbed was constructed in 1849 with just hand labor and black powder! The old Windham Depot and associated freight shed are in dire need of work, but funding has been approved to refurbished both buildings for a mini-visitor center and possible railroad museum highlighting the old Lawrence to Manchester Railroad.
By highlighting this section of the Salem to Manchester rail trail, the WRTA and BWA-NH hope to encourage other communities along the trail to develop their portion of the trail. The corridor allows for fantastic connections to local roads for commuters as well as recreation. Thanks to local contractors doing excellent work and not inflating prices, the actual cost of this project was about half the estimate submitted to the state by an outside consulting company. The long-term benefits of the Salem to Manchester rail trail are far to many to list here. Check out the trail for yourself, help promote the trail in other towns along the way, and support the WRTA as well. You can buy a foot of the Windham trail for $75.00 and have your name on a Dedication Plaque that will be permanently located at the Windham Depot trail head. Again, check out the WRTA web site for more information: www.windhamrailtrail.org.
Here are some photos of the Windham Rail Trail as taken on June 28, 2006. (And yes, it rained hard before we finished the short ride. In fact, it rained so hard it shorted-out my bike computer! dt)
For more information about the Windham Rail Trail, please follow the links provided above to reach the WRTA or contact the BWA-NH at info@bwanh.org.
