County transportation planners present Beacon-Hopewell rail-trail feasibility study; corridor largely usable but engineering choices and costs remain

Mark DeBald, program administrator for the Dutchess County Transportation Council (DCTC), and the projects engineering team presented findings from a federally funded Beacon-Hopewell rail-trail feasibility study and answered council and public questions.

DCTC said the corridor is a 13-mile section of the Beacon Line currently rail-banked by Metro-North; about four miles of the corridor lie inside the City of Beacon. Presenters said the study is federally funded (an MPO planning process), that there is no cost to municipalities for the study itself, and that the draft report will be released in spring with a public meeting scheduled for March 20 and a final report expected in summer.

Consultant Chris (project manager) and Tom Baird summarized field work completed in 2024 and public outreach that included pop-up events, an online survey that generated more than 1,000 responses and a project website with the existing-conditions report. Survey respondents generally supported a trail; restroom facilities, benches and wayfinding topped the list of desired amenities.

Engineers described two primary build concepts:

- Rail-to-trail: removal of tracks and conversion of the existing corridor; reuses existing railroad bridges and requires little additional right-of-way acquisition in many sections.

- Rail-with-trail: keeps the rail tracks in place and constructs a parallel trail separated from the tracks; this approach requires more structural work, fill and new bridging in constrained locations and produces higher environmental and construction costs in narrow segments.

Key technical findings and constraints noted by the consultants included: approximately 75% of the existing railroad ballast is in good or excellent condition; the corridor contains 14 large culverts and nine small culverts; about five miles of the corridor lie within Fishkill Creek floodplain; six bridge structures were identified (two in the City of Beacon); three named streams cross the corridor; and biological resources of note include occurrences of species such as the Indiana bat and various wetlands in Fishkill and East Fishkill segments. Consultants reported two localized washouts outside the city that they called straightforward repairs.

Project staff stressed that rail-banking by Metro-North remains part of the corridors legal status but that only a small number of rail-banked corridors nationally have subsequently resumed rail service. The study team said the engineering, environmental review and cost estimates will determine whether rail-with-trail is technically and financially viable in constrained locations such as the Route 52/Carvana and East Main/Churchill Street corridors.

The study team recommended phased construction and noted funding will likely be a mix of federal, state and local sources; typical grant sizes and program ceilings vary widely (TAP grants cited at ~$5 million, other programs larger). The team said the project is "buildable" in their view and that the draft recommendations will include potential phasing and cost estimates.

During public comment a resident, Fran Reilly, urged the council not to remove rails and advocated for light-rail transit on the spur instead of a walking/biking trail; other commenters and council members raised questions about privacy for abutting neighbors, winter lighting and trail maintenance, whether sections could be built in phases and whether some segments might be infeasible while others proceed.

The county and consultant team asked for public input ahead of the March 20 virtual public meeting and emphasized continued coordination with the Fjord Trail/Scenic Hudson and Metro-North as the study progresses.