NORTHAMPTON — The Northampton DPW received a $500,000 grant from the state’s MassTrails Grant Program to help fund the rehabilitation of the city’s portion of the Mass Central Rail Trail.
According to information from the state, the money will be used for a planned city project to rehabilitate 2.6 miles of the “Northampton Bikeway” section on the Mass Central Rail Trail, which is located from State Street to Bridge Road.
This section receives routine maintenance like pothole repairs, according to the state, but there has been no structural maintenance since 1982, which is when the trail was first constructed.
The grant will help fund asphalt resurfacing, pavement markings, signage and ADA-compliant at-grade rail trail crossings.
The project is one of 65 trail improvement projects across the state that were funded by the Healey-Driscoll Administration through the MassTrails Grant Program.
“The MassTrails Grant Program expands and links the state’s networks of off-road, shared-use pathways and recreational trails through matching grants, technical assistance, and resources available to municipalities, non-profits and other public entities,” read the state’s announcement of the grants. “These grants will significantly bolster community and recreational trail networks, supporting the creation of new multi-use trails, enhancing accessibility, establishing connections between towns, constructing boardwalks and bridges, implementing signage and expanding trail corridors across the state.”
The DPW office did not respond to requests for comment on the grant as of press time.
In early June, the city announced that the Mass Central Rail Trail between Jackson Street and Stoddard Street will be closed for at least two months.
According to the announcement on the city website, the lengthy closure is accommodating a drainage reconstruction project at Adare Place. The project will be completed as preparation for a future repaving project in the area.
“We anticipate this closure lasting approximately two months — with potential for the closure to run until Aug. 30,” read the announcement.
In a statement to Reminder Publishing, Donna LaScaleia, the DPW director, said that the project is needed to make sure the road is draining properly, and the long-term integrity of the bike path is maintained.
“This is a significant project that we’ve spent considerable time designing and permitting, and we are pleased to see it moving forward,” LaScaleia said. “After this work is complete, we will be paving the bike path from Stop and Shop to the Look Park roundabout.”
In a December 2023 City Council meeting, Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra listed off several road and sidewalk projects the city would work on over the next several months.
During the Dec. 5 meeting, she mentioned that the city needed to repave the bike path from Stop and Shop to Look Park.
Sciarra said that the repaving of the bike path is crucial because work has not been done on that path in three-plus decades.
“We are addressing that, and while doing that, we’ll address drainage issues at Adare Place that have been a problem for quite a while,” Sciarra said during that council meeting.
On Dec. 21, the City Council voted on an order that authorizes borrowing $2 million for the many paving projects Sciarra listed on Dec. 5.
