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Last Updated: 24 days ago
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Segment
The Norwottuck Branch of the Mass Central Rail Trail
The Norwottuck Branch of the Mass Central Rail trail is an 11 mile DCR State Park built in 1993. A highlight is the Norwottuck Rail Trail Bridge, a 1492 foot, eight-span steel lattice truss bridge over the Connecticut River.
Trails
The Norwottuck Branch of the Mass Central Rail Trail is an 11-mile (18 km) combination bicycle/pedestrian paved rail trail running from Northampton, Massachusetts, through Hadley and Amherst, to Belchertown, Massachusetts. It opened in 1992, and is now part of the longer Mass Central Rail Trail.
The MCRT is a partly-complete 104-mile rail trail from Northampton to Boston along the former Mass Central Railroad route. Much of the trail, including the Norwottuck Branch Rail Trail and the Somerville Community Path, have been developed as separate projects but will serve as part of the complete Trail.
The Northampton Rail Trail System is a hub and spoke multi use paved trail network in Northampton MA. This network has connecting trails to Amherst, Belchertown, Easthampton, Florence, Hadley, Southampton, and Williamsburg.
Timeline
June 2015
The original trail had degraded over time. One aspect of the problem is that the original pavement was an attempt at being "green" and incorporated crushed used glass bottles as part of its aggregate. This material had been slowly emerging over time, causing flat tires and other issues.
As a response to the condition of the trail, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation Highway Division embarked on the Norwottuck Branch Rail Trail Rehabilitation Project. Specifics of the reconstruction plan included widening the trail from its original 8 feet to 10+ feet to better accommodate busy traffic, especially on weekends, since widening would lessen the impact of traffic as on any other kind of road. After being under discussion for several years, the $4 million reconstruction project got underway in August 2013; it was completed in June 2015.
1993
The Norwottuck Rail Trail opened. It was one of the last formal, paved, bikeways in the US to be built at the old design width of 8 feet. The name of "Norwottuck" was the result of a suggestion by the Hadley Historical Commission, who believed that the name corresponded to the local Native American tribe, the Norwottucks. It was also the term for the entire area. The Department of Conservation and Recreation later expanded the trail's name to the Norwottuck Branch of the Mass Central Rail Trail, as part of the effort to complete the Mass Central Rail Trail.
1980
The Mass. State Parks agency Department of Environmental Management (DEM) purchases the western most 8.5 miles of the corridor and begins a 13 year process to plan and develop the corridor. Over time, the trail will be extended to 11 miles.