Plan to Connect Rail Trail to Boston Gains Steam

The Norwottuck Network’s efforts to complete the Central Massachusetts Rail Trail Network are gaining speed. This month, the Town of Hadley formalized support to fully connect the rail trail 104 miles to Boston.

The Central Massachusetts Rail Trail was created in the 1990s following a contest for state funds to support a rail trail network in the state of Massachusetts. The Norwottuck Network, which at the time was organized by a small group of people associated with the University of Massachusetts, won the funds.

Its organizers then established a non-profit organization with the help of Craig Della Penna, who became executive director of the organization in 2019.

Originally, the Norwottuck Network was largely focused on smaller improvements along the existing trail. However, Della Penna and the Network have long held bigger dreams about the rail trail’s potential, including connecting the local Norwottuck trail with various sections of the trail throughout the state.

“We will expand the mission. It's not just going to be little betterments along the westernmost 10 miles.” Della Penna said.

Currently, 63 miles of fragmented trail stretch across Massachusetts, but Della Penna’s plans stretch to 104. When all is said and done, the network hopes the completed trail will stretch all the way to Boston.

In order to make these dreams a reality, construction has already begun on the project. Currently, an additional 12 miles are under construction, with the Network hoping to reach a total of 75 miles of trail by the end of the year.

“We're going to reassemble the entire corridor. That's what we set out to do,” he said.

Despite this year’s progress, Della Penna has faced a fair share of pushback against his plans. “I'll get beaten up at public meetings, not literally, but figuratively,” Della Penna said. His efforts to gain support for the expansion project have meant constant appearances at town council meetings throughout the Pioneer Valley, championing the benefits of the project to council members in order to gain their approval.

“Just last week, I was in Hadley, getting the Town of Hadley to write a letter of support, urging the state to finish the rail trail,” he said. Similarly, Della Penna has garnered support from residents in Belchertown for the completion of the rail trail.

“Both of those places had really extremist opposition years ago,” Della Penna said. However, he believes the Network’s canvassing efforts have played a major role in shifting public opinion. Della Penna explained that he used the potential economic benefits the trail would provide to the adjoining towns as a way to convince skeptics.

“It’s the concept of wallets on wheels,” Della Penna said. When bike tourists visit towns through a trip on the bike trail, their tourism supports local businesses which would flounder without it, he explained.

Della Penna believes that not only would the expansion bring in economic growth for surrounding towns, but it would increase engagement with the local area as well.

“This is how communities get changed,” he said. Della Penna said that most suburban communities lack a “third place” — a community outside of one’s family and work. “The trail allows for connection [to] take place,” he said.

Jessica Lomo ’27, a bike technician for Amherst College’s Tread Shed, a student-run cooperative structure, spoke about the benefits of the trail, highlighting that the expanded new trail will allow for more Amherst community members to travel to places they haven’t discovered.

“The expansion is just gonna propel people to do more … You can [only] ride so far with the amount of trail we have, but with the expansion,  people are gonna go above and beyond because they have new places to explore,” she said. “Spring is coming. It’s going to explode.”