MONROE, CT — Trees are being cleared to create a trail in a wooded area on the Great Hollow Lake side of Wolfe Park for the expansion the Housatonic Valley Rail Trail.
First Selectman Terry Rooney, who visited the work site with Town Engineer James DiMeo and Public Works Director Chris Nowacki last week, said the improvements will make the trail safer for people walking, running and riding their bikes.
“I really like coming out to these projects,” Rooney said. “I like to be hands on, so when people come to complain to me, I know what’s going on. I try to keep my finger on the pulse of every project.”
The trails project will connect the Housatonic Valley Rail Trail to the Pequonnock River Trail, completing sections two and three, by extending a 10-foot-wide stone dust trail by approximately 4,600 linear feet, creating an off-road connection from Maple Drive to Wolfe Park.
The trail will extend from the southerly side of an existing pedestrian bridge over the West Pequonnock River — just south of Maple Drive — going north to the public works facility. The trail will continue across Purdy Hill Road and through portions of Wolfe Park, until it reaches the existing segment of trail at the north end of the park entrance drive off Purdy Hill Road.
The project includes installation of the trail, retaining walls, protective fencing, a mid-block crossing at Purdy Hill Road, tree removal to necessitate trail placement and enhancement landscape plantings, including trees, grass restoration and some directional and control signage.
DiMeo said the total cost of the project is over $2 million.
During former first selectman Ken Kellogg’s administration the town obtained a grant from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection in 2019 to cover 80 percent of design costs for the trails project, leaving about $55,000 to be paid for by the town. Those costs were included in the 2020 town budget and paid for with capital reserve funds.
The construction is completely funded by a Local Transportation Capital Improvement Program (LOTCIP) grant.
After Guerrera Construction Company, Inc., an Oxford firm, placed the winning bid to do the project, the town received $1,948,666 from the state within two weeks, according to DiMeo.
He said the state changed its process and now gives towns all the money upfront, rather than as a reimbursement at the end of a project.
“This is our first project under that protocol,” Rooney said.
The project began a little more than two weeks ago and Nowacki said, “they made some really good progress.”
The construction contract requires the project to be completed no later than August 29, 2026, but DiMeo said it may be done sooner, particularly if there is a mild winter.
Creating aggregate
Monroe Public Works is renting a screening plant for one month to remove the spoils — asphalt, concrete and rock — from soil left over from paving and drainage work.
“We’re creating our own aggregate, so we don’t have to buy what we need or pay to get rid of what we can’t use,” First Selectman Terry Rooney explained.
A company will use a crusher to process the spoils, making the process that can be used for road bed construction or anything one needs compaction for, according to Public Works Deputy Director Bill Phillips.
Phillips estimates the town created about $50,000 worth of material, which he said will only be used for town jobs.
“We rented the paver last year before buying it,” Rooney said of trying out equipment first.
“I don’t think we’d buy this,” said Phillips, who estimates the cost for a screening plant at around $250,000, compared to about $13,000 to rent one.
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I would love to see a map of where the new trail is going. Would that be found at Parks and Rec, or Public Works?
Kudos to the First Selectman and the Parks and Recreation Department for getting this Rail Trail improvement and extension project underway. What a tremendous addition to our Rail Trail. I would like to request that signage outlining Rail Trail Etiquette be posted along the trail. As a regular trail user I have had to dodge bikes and e-bikes that come up from behind me without warning. As a physician, I have treated patients who have had serious injuries after being struck by bikes. It would also be great to remind dog owners to not decorate the trees along the trail with pet waste bags.
Here are some bike trail etiquette sign suggestions from the Cape Cod Rails to Trails .
Trail etiquette:
Be courteous of other path users.
Keep right unless passing.
Stop at all stop signs.
Trail is open dawn to dusk. If you have appropriate lights, ride at your on risk.
Give a clear and audible signal before passing and pass only when it’s safe to.
Travel at a 15MPH speed limit.
Pedestrians please acknowledge the bicyclist signal, for example with a hand wave
Wear protective headgear. This is required by law for children 16 years and younger, but recommended for all.
Respect private property next to the trail.
Carry in, carry out all trash and belongings.
Thanks so much Mr Rooney and team ( also thanks to Ken Kellog who got this initiative going, John Iannarone