MAKING WAY
$12M in funding to aid work on Canalway Trail
SCHUYLERVILLE, N.Y. » State officials Tuesday announced $12 million in new funding to complete three sections of the 62mile Champlain Canalway Trail from Waterford to Whitehall.
The projects, when finished in three years, will double the number offroad stretches on the route from 11 to 22 miles.
Sections targeted for work are fairly short distances in Waterford-Halfmoon and Schuylerville, and 12 miles from Fort Edward to Fort Ann.
“This doesn’t finish it, but it’s an important step forward,” said Andy Beers, Empire State Trail director. “It’s a lot of money. There’s a lot of work to do.”
Beers announced the funding during a luncheon attended by nearly 50 local officials on the Dix Bridge, part of Hudson Crossing Park, which connects Saratoga and Washington counties just north of Schuylerville.
Work on the Champlain Canalway Trail has
been ongoing for several years as a way to promote economic development through recreational tourism.
However, the effort has moved slowly at times for lack of funding, and difficulty obtaining rights-ofway from private property owners in some places.
“This is a banner day for the Champlain Canalway Trail,” spokesman David Perkins said.
In January, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced plans for a 750-mile Empire State Trail from New York City to Canada and Albany to Buffalo, costing $200 million, which the Legislature approved in the latest state budget.
“It’s a brand-new capital appropriation,” Beers said. “It’s not coming out of other pots of money.”
If completed, as scheduled by 2020, it would be the longest multi-use trail in the nation. It’s primarily designed for cyclists and pedestrians.
Plans call for using and extending existing trails, and building new sections to close gaps wherever possible.
The Champlain Canalway Trail would become part of the larger Empire State Trail. The state plans to put up wayfinding signs directing people to nearby businesses, historic sites and attractions. Also, the trail will have its own website and mobile website, along with more convenient access points and parking areas, Beers said.
The three local sections of Champlain Canalway Trail work are considered key for its eventual completion. They are:
• A short stretch from Waterford to Halfmoon behind the Momentive Materials plant; another short section from northern Halfmoon to Route 4 in Mechanicville. When finished, this will create seven straight miles of offroad trail from Waterford (at Broad Street/Route 32) to Mechanicville where Main Street intersects with Route 4. The towns of Waterford and Halfmoon will build the new sections with state funds.
• In Schuylerville, a new 1.5-mile section will be built south of the village from Ferry Street to Route 4 and Garnsey Lane. This will link to an existing 1.5-mile section that runs north of the village to the Dix Bridge at Hudson Crossing Park.
So there will be one continuous three-mile stretch north and south of Schuylerville.
• The longest new section will start at the Feeder Canal Trail in Fort Edward and head north 12 miles to Fort Ann.
Three miles will encompass the existing, seldomused Towpath Road. New construction is planned for the northernmost six miles, using a stonedust surface.
In winter, the Champlain and Empire State trails will be available for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.
Snowmobiling will be permitted on designated sections. Beers said all but five miles of the Hudson Valley portion of the Empire State Trail from Kingston to The Battery, in Manhattan, will be offroad.
For more information, go to “Trails & Scenic Byways” at the website: hudsongreenway.ny.gov.