Dryden Rail Trail Task Force gives updates

The Town of Dryden Public Works and Highway departments recently completed a project that has been “years in the making,” said Bob Beck, Dryden Rail Trail Task Force chairman, last week.

The departments, led by Rick Young, updated the trail between Stevenson Road and Game Farm Road. The stretch is about 2,500 linear feet of trail within the Reynolds Game Farm in the town of Dryden and attached to the 11-mile Dryden Rail Trail.

Beck said the updates included the “relatively small amount” of replacement of the 150-year-old pressure-treated wooden railroad trestles, placement of pressure-treated plywood on top of the original decking, waterproof roofing for the top of the deck and installation of a stone-dust trail surface and heavy-duty railings.

“The stone-dust surface is applied to the rest of the trail as well,” he said. “It was quality work from the Town of Dryden. I’m really pleased with the results.”

The Town of Dryden and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation reached a 20-year renewal deal in January of this year after an almost 20-year discussion to try and come to “some sort of an agreement,” Deputy Town Supervisor Dan Lamb said back in January.

Beck noted the renovation project “worked out perfectly.”

The alternative would have been to tear out the old structures and replace them with prefabricated, factory-made pedestrian bridges at a “considerable expense.”

“We’re certain that these 150-year-old railroad trestles could go for another 100 [or more] years,” he said. “Prefabricated bridges rust over time or would need major replacement.”

The clean-up and renovation project attached to this section of the trail is part of an effort to connect the trail with the East Ithaca Recreation Way on Game Farm Road.

But the Town of Dryden must go through another agreement process, this time with the Town of Ithaca and Tompkins County to ensure safety for patrons who cross the county highway.

Beck said safety features are not in place yet to connect the trails, but talks have continued to install pedestrian and traffic signs — for both directions of the road — and road striping for pedestrians.

“We want it to be a safe crossing so we need to make sure there is proper signage all around,” Beck said, adding there isn’t a concrete timeframe to open the connection with the trails.

The total cost of the clean-up and renovations for the 2,500 feet of trail was about $65,000, Beck said

Funding for this portion of the ongoing Rail Trail project was covered by Triad Foundation, Inc. of Ithaca for $15,000, and the rest was covered through an NYS Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation grant, with a 50% match from the Town of Dryden in the future.

Aside from one portion of the Rail Trail completed, another has been put on hold until further notice.

The Dryden Rail Tail Task Force and the Town of Dryden are in the process of developing a roughly $2.9 million pedestrian bridge over Route 13 in the hamlet of Varna. However, disgruntled residents are accusing the town and the task force of attempts to steal land from property owners, Beck said. Beck noted that the town and the task force are negotiating with owners for permission and an agreement to use their land for the bridge project.

The owners so far “are cooperating,” but some are “trying to kill the project,” Beck said, who added construction for the bridge would start as early as spring 2022.

Beck added the bridge project would only need about 0.16 acres from landowners, and ramps on both ends of the bridge would be at a “certain height for people to safely cross the road.”

The railway through Dryden, the village of Freeville, Varna and into the town of Ithaca was turned over in 1982 to 38 landowners. So far, Beck said, 30 of those landowners have been on board with the Rail Trail project and agreed to easements with their properties.

“The bridge is very important because it’s not just a recreational trail; it’s for the future of alternative transportation [in terms of bikes and e-bikes],” he added.

Beck is determined to come to terms with the landowners in order to build the bridge.

“A lot of people didn’t think [the Rail Trail project] would happen,” he said. “They said we wouldn’t get access to all of the pieces of land for this project, but most of them are already on board.”

Beck added, “We’re getting there.”

IN BRIEF:

Upcoming meetings for the town of Dryden

The Dryden Town Board is slated to have its monthly business meeting this Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Dryden Town Hall on 93 E. Main St.
The Town of Dryden Planning Board is scheduled to meet on Thursday, Aug. 26 at 6 p.m. at the Town Hall.