Phase III of the Farmington River Trail begins at the intersection of River Road (Route 179) and Gildersleeve Avenue. Photos: dotCANTON
After a bend to the left, the trail runs between some houses on the left and the Collinsville fire station and the Canton Little League field on the right as it heads toward Dyer Avenue. (See gallery below to follow the path.)
By Steve Wilder dotCANTON.com
If all goes well and the weather cooperates, the first layer of pavement will be down before the arrival of winter on a winding stretch of freshly cleared trail from River Road (Route 179) to Atwater Road in Canton.
It’s not likely much more will be done during the winter months, but when the weather begins to warm, the work will resume in earnest. By mid to late summer of 2011, according to Jeff Shea, Canton’s project administrator, Phase III of the Farmington River Trail likely will be complete, and a fully-paved, 10-foot wide, 10,000-foot long multipurpose path will be in place from the intersection of Gildersleeve Avenue and River Road all the way to Lovely Street, not far from Albany Avenue (Route 44) and The Shoppes at Farmington Valley.
Shea describes a trail that will include signage at roadway intersections, split rail fencing in areas where there are safety concerns, benches for resting or relaxing, and a “gateway feature” at Lovely Street to proclaim the path’s existence.
In addition, Shea says, Phase III includes a gazebo to be erected in open space south of the waste water treatment plant on River Road and adjacent to an already completed section of trail.
Shea says the approximately $1 million cost of Phase III is being paid in full with stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. S. Carpenter Construction Co. of Bristol is blazing the trail.
The Farmington River Trail is part of the Rails to Trails Project. This portion of the trail runs along an abandoned Central New England Railroad right of way.
To continue following the path of Phase III of the Farmington River Trail, click on any of the six images in the gallery below and use the arrow left or arrow right button at the bottom of the larger image that pops up. To return to this page, click on the full image you are viewing.
