Groundbreaking at the Bloomfield Greenway Multi-Use Trail
August 16th, 2018
The sun shined brightly today over the groundbreaking for Section 1 construction of the Bloomfield Greenway Multi-Use Trail. Town of Bloomfield Town Engineer Jonathan Thiesse presided over the celebration, which was attended by an enthusiastic crowd of local dignitaries, state representative, CTDOT representation, planning and DPW personnel from neighboring communities, design and construction professionals, and many cycling enthusiasts/citizen advocates, many of whom have been involved in the development of the project for nearly a decade.
Freeman Companies, LLC is providing Construction Inspection to the Town for this important, and much awaited, trail and recreation amenity.
The Bloomfield Greenway Multi-Use Trail – Section 1 project is approximately 1.8 miles of paved 10 – 12 foot wide recreational trail, with appurtenances, and including an additional 700 feet of grading for future paved trail at the northeasterly end of the Project. Bounded by the Simsbury Town line to the west and the Windsor Town line to the east, the trail begins along the Northeast Utilities right-of-way roughly 600 feet south of the corridor’s intersection with Route 189 and follows the utility corridor along a wooded slope. After emerging into open field, the trail crosses Tariffville and Hoskins Roads at the site of Old St. Andrew’s church. Along the trail there are divider striping and traffic calming measures at street intersections, shared and dedicated parking areas for trail and adjacent site users, a pre-fabricated steel bridge structure at the Griffin Brook crossing, modular retaining walls, protective fencing, landscape screening as well as signal modification at the intersection of Route 189 (Tunxis Avenue) at Day Hill Road. The Trail provides a safe connector to Hartford which doesn’t now exist.
The Project has received federal funding under a combination of STP-Urban and Transportation Alternatives programs which promote complete streets, trails, and alternative modes of transportation. As is typical, the Federal funding is being administered by the Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT), and associated requirements, policies, and procedures must be complied with as related to the Project. Section 2 of the trail is currently in design and will be 100% state funded.
