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Policy board adopts East Coast Greenway gap-closure study, estimates $76.7 million to build alignment
Summary
The Capital Region Council of Governments policy board voted to adopt a final East Coast Greenway gap-closure study that identifies roughly 12–17 miles of missing off-road trail and an estimated alignment cost of about $76,700,000; the study advances the project to design and funding-seeking phases.
The Capital Region Council of Governments policy board voted to adopt a final East Coast Greenway gap-closure study that identifies options to close a roughly 12–17 mile gap through Simsbury, Bloomfield, Hartford and East Hartford and advances the project into the design and grant-seeking phase.
Caitlin Palmer, project manager for the study, told the board the preferred alignment focuses on off-road segments that improve safety and accessibility. "The total cost for the alignment that we've identified...is $76,700,000," Palmer said, noting the study presents two route options through Hartford and includes interim on-road alignments where recurring flooding makes a permanent off-road alignment infeasible.
Palmer said the study breaks the work into community-level segments, includes map books and renderings to support grant applications, and provides a per-mile ordering of magnitude: roughly $4,600,000 per mile for the identified alignment. The report also retains an optional culvert under Robert Street in East Hartford priced at about $1,500,000 that the town had raised concerns about; that culvert option is not included in the primary total shown to the board.
Board members cited the study's potential economic and community benefits. The presentation referenced a Connecticut-focused economic analysis of a related corridor that found completed trail projects can generate large sales impacts, which Palmer used to illustrate potential returns on investment for the region.
After the presentation and brief discussion, John Coleman moved to adopt the study; Wendy Mack seconded the motion and the board approved it by voice vote.
Next steps identified in the presentation include packaging segment-level designs and costs to support grant applications and municipal endorsements, pursuing federal and state funding, and advancing priority segments into detailed design.
