SOUTHWICK – Town officials met with members of the Appalachian Mountain Club on Thursday morning to discuss a project that will be taking place on the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail off of Rising Corner Road.
The Appalachian Mountain Club, which is a non-profit organization that takes care of more than 350 miles of trail across five states in the Northeast, is working with Southwick town officials to construct a handicap accessible trail from the parking lot of the Rising Corner Trail to the floating boardwalk.
According to Bridget Likely, Coordinator for New England National Scenic Trail, the handicap-accessible pathway will be crushed stone and the parking lot is expected to be 20 ft. by 24 ft. with two handicap parking spots available. The New England National Scenic Trail is the official organization of the trails in the local area and assists the Appalachian Mountain Club with funding to help support projects.
The other aspect of the project is downgrading the slope that is near the floating boardwalk in order to make it much more accessible for handicapped individuals. Currently, there is a 35-foot difference in elevation between the grass area near the trail up to the floating boardwalk. While there are zig-zag routes up the hill to help reduce elevation grades for hiking, the Appalachian Mountain Club is looking to create switchbacks in order to make the slope less than 5% grade.
Southwick officials and members of the Appalachian Mountain Club are looking over the details of the upgrades expected on the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail. (Photo by Greg Fitzpatrick)
Likely added that having an actual trail for all people to use will be a major improvement.
“It’s a wet, grassy area even where it’s flat,” said Likely.
In the fall of 2016, a floating boardwalk was built on the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail in order to upgrade the existing bridge that was deteriorating and becoming unsteady. The floating boardwalk is right in the middle of the swamped area on the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail and spans 240 ft.
Having a proper access way to the floating boardwalk is important to town officials as it is a popular destination on the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail.
“It’s just a nice destination to hang out and watch the birds fly by,” said Conservation Commission Coordinator Dennis Clark.
The project is the result of a grant that the Baker-Polito Administration announced on August 20, 2018 awarding over $3.9 million to fund design, maintenance, and construction for 75 trail projects throughout Massachusetts. The grant is being funded through the state’s RTP (Recreational Trail Program) and other state funding.
Likely noted that they’ll be starting the permitting and the layout in March and plan to start the construction of the project in May.
