Construction on several area trails helps make state more bike-friendly.

The Albany-hudson Electric Trail is so new that some sections still have straw protecting the grass seed alongside the fresh pavement. But when we walked a five-mile section of it two weeks ago, trekking from the trailhead in Nassau to Kinderhook Lake, we had plenty of company.

Trail users are responding with enthusiasm to a bonanza of trail development in the Capital Region. Much of it is due to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s push to complete the Empire State Trail, a statewide system that will run from Manhattan north to Canada and from Albany west to Buffalo. It will total about 750 miles, with around 85 percent of the trail from Manhattan to Albany to Buffalo offroad.

The new sections of trail completed or under construction this year couldn’t have come at a better time. According to the Rails-to-trails Conservancy, trail use is up about 60 percent on average this year.

In Albany, Columbia, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady and Washington counties, there are 62 miles of new off-road trails, says a recent report from the Capital District Transportation Committee.

Here are some of the local multi-use trail projects that wrapped up or are nearing completion this year:

Albany-hudson Electric Trailthough not officially open yet, the Albany-hudson Electric Trail is already getting plenty of visitors. The new 35-mile trail runs from the city of Rensselaer to the city of Hudson, mostly off-road. A key new leg in the Empire State Trail, it follows the path of the former AlbanyHudson Electric Trolley. Our recent short jaunt was scenic and fun, passing farmland (including horse farms) and crossing the Valatie Kill multiple times.

Andy Beers, director of the Empire State Trail, says the trail is awaiting finishing touches. “We don’t yet have a formal opening date, as our contractors are finishing key safety items including signage, marked crosswalks, safety fencing, and traffic signals,” he says.

Mohawk-hudson Bike-hike Trailthe Mohawk-hudson, running for approximately 42 miles from Rotterdam Junction to the Corning Preserve in Albany, is a key local leg of the Empire State Trail. • The town of Colonie paved most of its section of the trail this year. From Shaker Creek near Forts Ferry Road, the trail is now smooth sailing all the way out to Fonda Road. The trail had degraded over the years, suffering from drainage problems and a rough surface in some spots. • The town of Niskayuna also repaved about three miles of trail this year, from Balltown Road to Blatnick Park and then the connector trail to Riverdale Road. • The city of Schenectady closed its section of trail for most of the summer while a major sewer line was rebuilt. As the work was completed, new trail was laid on top. Improvements were also made to a railroad crossing on Maxon Road extension. • In Rotterdam Junction, a long-awaited project will eliminate the need for cyclists to ride on Route 5S for several miles. The state is in the process of building a tunnel under the CSX railroad tracks near Scrafford Lane, as well as constructing a new off-road section of trail from just west of Leggerio Lane in Rotterdam Junction to Pattersonville. “Construction is underway and DOT is making steady progress, but given the technical complexity of the rail line tunnels, we don’t currently have target completion dates,” Beers says. • In Watervliet, the city has built a new 1.8-mile multi-use path on the east side of Broadway, giving trail users a more protected option for travel.

South End Connectoralbany built a two-mile trail to connect the Mohawk-hudson trail to the Helderberg-hudson Rail Trail, which runs from Pearl Street nine miles out to Voorheesville.

Zim Smith Trailthe Zim Smith is not a part of the Empire State Trail, but it got a noteworthy expansion this year. In September, a new 2.5-mile section of trail was officially opened, extending the trail from its northern end at Ballston Spa past its former terminus in Halfmoon to the outskirts of the city of Mechanicville. The trail is now approximately 11.5 miles long. There are plans to connect it in the future to both Saratoga Spa State Park to the north and the Champlain Canalway Trail to the south.

Individually, the projects offer local communities improved recreational opportunities. Taken as a whole, they put New York on the map as a bikefriendly destination.