The local rail trail has been a work in progress over the past few years and residents will be able to enjoy some updates, come next spring.
Londonderry Trailways President, Bob Saur, has been eagerly awaiting the sign off on a few items for the northern part of trail system from the New Hampshire Department of Transportation NHDOT. “I’m hoping that, any day now, we’ll have that approval.”
Once the approval goes through, Phase 4 of trail will be getting some pedestrian hybrid crossing signals on Sanborn Road by the North Londonderry Elementary School. Those are the kinds of crossing signals that will require walkers or bikers to press a button, which will set off a flashing yellow light to alert cars that they are crossing the road.
The Trailways Committee had paid for a traffic study to be done to see where these signals would be needed the most. According to Saur, the state then determined which type of signal would be used where the trail intersects major roads.
The paths cutting through Londonderry are part of the larger Granite State Rail Trail. The town has 6.2 miles of trail that will eventually help connect the boarder to the capital. “The long term goal is to have a trail that runs from Salem to Manchester, then eventually Concord,” said Saur. The towns on the trail have their own groups helping to coordinate with each other but, “each town is really their own section,” said Saur.
Here in Londonderry, the Trailways Committee started the project in the middle and worked their way south until construction hit a snag by the new Woodmont Commons development. Saur explained that the committee spoke with the land owners about the trail and have decided to wait until things get father along at Woodmont before they continue.
Part of the problem is the access road to the proposed Exit 4A cuts across the existing rail trail. “We don’t want to put effort into something that will be bulldozed in the next few years,” Saur said.
Keeping that in mind, the trail has expanded up and north towards Manchester. It will continue past Route 28 and hopefully towards the airport. This will involve some ground work before construction season ends in early December.
The reason why the Trailways Committee needs the sign off from the NHDOT is because it gives them the rights to do the construction. With all the other work going on in town (Woodmont Commons, exit 4a, etc.), residents should be more aware of any work being done in the area while driving around.
Despite the need for expansion and signals, Saur reported that the trial in on track to be ready for spring. They just “got to get through the process.” The money needed to install the signals has already been allocated to the project. The contractors are all set to go. “Everything is in place,” said Saur. All residents need to do is wait and hope that the state signs off on it soon, so Londonderry can enjoy the first signs of spring on the newly updated rail trail.