Lind Heim and Donald Moyer walk on a section the Northern Rail Trail in Boscawen in 2022. (Courtesy of Concord Monitor)
Extending the Northern Rail Trail to Concord has been bogged down in over four years of negotiations and delays, with completion still a way off.
Initial work began in 2019 when Concord entered negotiations with Pan Am Railways to purchase a five- to seven-mile stretch of abandoned rail corridor. The goal was to connect the Northern Rail Trail’s southern end in Boscawen to Horseshoe Pond, completing a vital link for cyclists and outdoor enthusiasts.
In 2021, the city brokered a purchase agreement for the project, but it soon encountered a series of roadblocks after the state intervened, leaving it on hold ever since and frustrating those eager to see the rail trail extended through the area.
For cycling advocate Bob Spiegelman from Concord, this project is long overdue.
“The delay to me is unfathomable,” said Spiegelman. “So you have to wonder what the state’s intentions are here. Did they act in good faith?”
Beth Fenstermacher, Concord’s director of special projects, explained that the first major setback came when the New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) exercised its right of first refusal, pausing the city’s purchase.
“If the state hadn’t intervened, we would have bought it from Pan Am,” Fenstermacher said. “Everything was almost set.”
Currently, the longest uninterrupted section of the Northern Rail Trail stretches 57 miles from Lebanon to Boscawen. But, a significant gap remains between Concord and Manchester, forcing cyclists to navigate on-road detours.
The trail from Manchester to Derry is nearly complete, with just a few sections still requiring road navigation, and from Derry to Salem, it’s a smooth ride all the way.
To Spiegelman, a fully connected trail would be a game-changer, not just for Concord, but for the entire state.
“If you look at any of the bike touring companies, none of them have trips in New Hampshire,” said Spiegelman. “It’s not that there aren’t nice places to ride, but there are no places for continual off-road rides, so they go elsewhere. This would be a chance for people to experience the Granite State from border to border.”
After the state intervened, Concord was forced back to the negotiating table, further slowing progress.
The delays only worsened when Pan Am Railways was acquired by transportation giant CSX, which introduced its own set of requirements.
Unlike Pan Am, CSX insisted on a title search of the old rail line and land survey.
“That’s been happening for the past nine months,” said Fenstermacher. “It’s a very complicated project.”
Further complicating matters, the city’s initial purchase agreement with Pan Am was based on the appraised value at the time, in 2019.
CSX, however, requested a new appraisal, and the price has since risen due to the five-year delay. Now, the state and city are negotiating the purchase at the 2024 appraised value.
While the city has wrestled with these challenges, a $1 million grant from the NHDOT’s Transportation Alternatives Program, secured in 2021, remains untouched. The funds are earmarked for designing and constructing a 1.9-mile section of the trail.
But as the delays drag on, many are left frustrated.
“Every day that that million dollars isn’t being spent is one more day that that million dollars isn’t worth a million dollars anymore,” said Patrice Rasche, a member of the Friends of the Northern Rail Trail.
The city has yet to confirm if or when the grant might expire.
Fenstermacher is hopeful that the state Department of Transportation will consider the delays as circumstances beyond the city’s control to extend the grant.
Nearly three years have passed since the state exercised its right of first refusal, overriding Concord’s opportunity to move forward with the purchase.
Spiegelman compared the holdup to another project — the Christa McAuliffe statue, which was recently installed in front of the State House.
“That took 18 months from conception through approvals, through construction, creation to installation,” said Spiegelman. “That’s half the time and this is a single transaction that costs less than a house.”
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