You might notice some improvements on the Albany-Hudson Electric trail this summer.
The trail follows the route of a historic trolley line that ran from 1899 to 1929.
The 36-mile recreational “rail trail” is part of the larger 750-mile Empire State Trail.
It runs south from the town of East Greenbush in Rensselaer County to the town of Greenport in Columbia County.
It’s set to undergo a $2.2 million upgrade that will pave 9.5 miles of stone dust sections that have become eroded all throughout the trail.
Andy Kitzmann is the Executive Director of Hudson River Valley Greenway – a state-sponsored program that partners with communities and non-profits to advance natural and cultural resource protection projects.
Speaking along the trail in Kinderhook, Kitzmann says the Greenway was unable to pave the entire trail when construction on it finished in 2020.
“When we started construction in 2019 through 2020, most of the trail was paved. However, we had some budget constraints on time and we did stay on project budget, we finished on time, on budget. But we left 9 and a half miles of stone dust rather than paved,” he said
He says an estimated 630,000 people visit the trail each year.
It’s maintained by the Columbia Friends of the Electric Trail or CFET – a non-profit volunteer organization that promotes, plows, mows and cleans up the trail.
President Ronald Rich says the group has donated thousands of hours to maintain the trail outside of Columbia County since 2021.
“I have to say this trail is really a dream come true for some of us who have worked literally decades on the development of this trail route,” he said.
He says the project will fix three problems the trail is having.
“It will reduce the erosion damage that has been experienced in some parts of the stone dust sections of the trail, secondly, it will also reduce weed encroachment on the trail, which we’re experiencing some areas that are stone dust and lastly and during dry spells it will mitigate dust on the trail. Last summer, when we had some very dry spells dust was actually a problem on the stone dust sections, all these issues will be addressed with this fantastic new project,” he said.
Kinderhook Mayor Dorene Weir says the trail improvements will also improve accessibility for those with limited movement.
“The village of Kinderhook has a approximate 20 percent population of seniors, so when they get to the stone dust portions of the trail it’s not so much sure footing like it is on the asphalt. So, I believe that will be a great help for those and not just the seniors, others with mobility issues,” she said.
The asphalt paving improvements are being funded through the Clean Water, Clean Air and Green Jobs Environmental Bond Act, which allocates $4.2 billion for use in land conservation and resiliency projects.
Acting state Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Amanda Lefton says the trail improvement project is part of Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul’s “Get Offline, Get Outside” initiative.
“I have to say here in New York, we are especially fortunate to have leaders committed to this to ensure that no matter what, we continue to protect our environment, we continue to ensure that we have resilient communities and we continue to invest in opportunities to go outside,” Lefton said.
She says the trail was in need of critical improvements.
“We were able to utilize Bond Act funds to help make this really critical improvement to improve recreational access for folks in Columbia County and the Hudson Valley,” she said.
State Senator Michelle Hinchey of the 41st District says the section in Columbia County is one of the most beautiful legs of the larger Empire State Trail.
“When we fought for the Bond Act funding through the budget back just a couple years ago, these are exactly the kinds of projects that we were looking to fund, resiliency projects that could be something like flood mitigation in one area, it could be trail restoration to cut down and mitigate some of the environmental impacts on what was happening here,” she said.
The project is expected to be complete in July.
Until then, sections of the trail may be closed off during construction.
Reporting for WAMC news in Kinderhook. I’m Jesse Taylor
