Norwottuck North Narrative
Narrative
This section of the Norwottuck Rail Trail will extend from the Florence Street crossing in Northampton to the Northampton/Williamsburg Town Line, approximately 1,750 meters. Initially
the proposed rail trail begins at the Florence Street crossing and then runs along a former railroad corridor heading northward, and terminating in the vicinity of the Northampton/Williamsburg
Town Line. The right-of-way is under the control of the City of Northampton.
MassHighway is proposing to construct this project (MHD file #602885). This project involves a section of the bike path extension along an existing abandoned railroad bed (formerly
Mass Electric Right-of-Way) starting from its link with the Manhan Rail Trail at the Florence Street crossing (Station 22+00) in Northampton, MA to the Northampton/Williamsburg Town
Line (Station 38+80). This section of bike trail includes minor maintenance of an existing bridge at Beaver Brook. The Bridge is a single span bridge with masonry abutments that will
be repointed and the superstructure will be constructed using a timber deck and timber pedestrian safety rails.
The bike path will be 3.0 meters wide with 0.6 meter graded grass shoulders on each side with 0.3 meter to 0.6 meter offsets to bike rails at select locations where slopes warrant the
bicycle railing for safety purposes. In other select areas the graded shoulder is eliminated on one side at a time to reduce impacts on adjacent wetlands and a certified vernal pool.
The project will include excavation, trail construction and a covering of trap rock gravel, bridge work, installation of safety railings, traffic signs and markings, installation of
steel bollards, seeding unpaved graded areas, installation of erosion controls, and other appurtenances and incidental items as set forth in the proposal and required to complete the
work.
The project involves work within the 100’ Wetland Buffer Zone, which will consist of approximately 121,600 square feet of work.
The work in the 100’ Buffer Zone includes the construction of the 3.0 Meter wide trap rock gravel bicycle trail and the associated clearing and grubbing, site grading, paving and loam
and seeding. In order to mitigate any silt and erosion, straw bales and silt fence are being placed along the down slope side of the fill slopes. The detail for the construction of
the straw bales and silt fence erosion protection is shown on the plan. All disturbed areas adjacent to the trap rock gravel trail will receive a 100mm layer of loam and be seeded.