Cross Vermont Trail News Scroll

CVTA logo
 

Updates and media posts.

December 8, 2023

Dear Friends,

We hope you’ve had a good year of outdoor fun on Vermont’s great network of trails despite the summer rains. The July 10-11 flood was the big news for the Cross Vermont Trail.

We’re happy to say that our practice of Build Back Better paid off when all the large bridges, culverts and trail segments we rebuilt after Tropical Storm Irene held fast—hurray! The Johnny Brook Bridge and trail in Richmond is a good example of this smart re-build. The new Winooski River Bridge in East Montpelier was designed with climate-driven storms in mind, and it stayed solid on its abutments—phew!

"Storm damage across all the variety of local trails CVTA helps to maintain was extensive but not insurmountable" reports our Executive Director Greg Western. After the storm he was busy all of the rest of the year from Richmond to Wells River on restoration work. Money we had on hand from your past donations allowed us to quickly go into action, buying gravel and materials and renting equipment to clean up many smaller washouts and overwhelmed culverts.

Major structures like the Winooski Bridge did well in the big storm, but there were uncountable smaller washouts to repair. After finishing all that this Fall, we are ready to resume progress on new trail construction in East Montpelier next Spring.

Some segments of the Cross Vermont Trail took bigger hits, however. You may have noticed the slumped trail railing above the Winooski River in East Montpelier where our shared path with Route 2 is located. The river undercut its steep bank here, but VTrans has pledged to reinstall the path after they finish shoring up the riverbank. Other partners we are supporting as they do large scale storm response projects are Groton State Forest and the Town of Marshfield. CVTA played an important role to advocate that trail repair be considered in these organizations' larger storm response.

We’re pleased that our trail projects built over the last ten years have proven resilient. We’re also aiming for resiliency in our organization by growing our financial resources so that we can hire paid seasonal staff as needed at a reasonable wage. This past summer we had no applications for our AmeriCorps crew, usually the backbone of our summer season, so Greg had to rely on volunteers, and sometimes his own lonesome, to do the flood repair work.

The amount of trail we’re responsible for is growing, and so too must our organizational capacity grow. Just this past summer we opened an important new section of the old railbed as a formal trail heading out from Plainfield Village to Marshfield. This was the result of investing much careful time in working together positively with landowners, and then being able to spend the money needed to upgrade the trail once permission was given. We continue our program of annual outreach to landowners who may someday become Cross Vermont Trail partners and aim to report on many more new sections of trail in the coming years.

Volunteer groups are always an important part of how we work. But to fully build for the future CVTA relies on your donation to help pay for dedicated staff.

Please help us to grow as a sustainable trail organization, ready to meet the challenges of weather events, new trail construction and existing trail maintenance. Your generosity at this time will help ensure that the Cross Vermont Trail and many side trails continue to improve and grow, in great shape into the future, for the people of all the communities — geographic and otherwise — that together form the vibrant network of the Cross Vermont Trail!

With our best wishes for 2024!

Sincerely,

Mike Thomas
CVTA Board Chair

Rose Paul
CVTA Board Secretary

P.S. Our annual meeting next year will be Saturday July 20 in Groton. It's a low key chance to meet other trail enthusiasts and share your ideas too. It will also be a time to check out and celebrate some major upgrades to the Cross Vermont Trail on the railbed underway now, which we are doing together with major partner the Town of Groton. Stay tuned for details, everyone welcome!

In Richmond, the Johnnie Brook boardwalk was buried but unbroken.

On our newly opened section of railtrail between Plainfield Village and Marshfield, CVTA reconstructed a large washed out culvert.

In Groton, south of Rickers Mill, CVTA took the lead to repair this large wash out.

In Groton State Forest CVTA continued our long tradition of helping to build out and maintain the full multi-use path network. After the storm we rebuilt this damaged segment of the (poetically named) Rail Trail Connector Trail.

The Cross Vermont Trail located on the Montpelier & Wells River railbed where the town owns the old bed in Marshfield was heavily impacted - exposing the rail ties! The town has completed a major rebuild this Fall. Next year CVTA will work with the town to complete further improvements at the trailhead here, and also to upgrade additional sections of the railbed elsewhere.

This Fall we resurfaced and graded all of the recently constructed but then storm damaged segments of the new trail on either side of the Winooski Bridge.

In Wells River, CVTA Board Chair Mike Thomas dressed up to reset a storm damaged boardwalk.

December 7, 2023

The first round of flood repair to the shoulder of Route 2 has been completed. Thanks to VTrans and their contractor for putting the trail back together as the work was done. Heads up that VTrans will be doing additional major work at this location in 2024.

November 22, 2023

Storm repair by VTrans contractor is emphatically active where bike path runs on shoulder of Route 2, behind the guardrail, heading towards East Montpelier.

Not sure how they got that excavator perched on the slumping nearly vertical slope at edge of river, but there it is.

Trail is closed while they do this (probably obvious). But will reopen when this first round of work is done. Later next summer there will be another larger round of work at the same location.

November 16, 2023

The trail section in East Montpelier that threads the needle with the Winooski close by on one side and Route 2 on the other was sorely undercut by the July Flood. This is the section behind the guardrail, between the bike path bridge and the trailhead at the Hidden Dam. After the flood the trail, and the whole road shoulder, started slumping.

Vt Agency of Transportation is embarking on the large repair needed here. Initial work will be done over the next couple of weeks, to stabilize the site before winter. Then next summer there will be additional work done to complete the permanent fix.

While VTrans is on site actually working, the trail will be closed of course. However, the good news is that between the work periods, trail is expected to be open. Watch for signs (and giant yellow machines in your way) alerting when the project is active.

October 28, 2023

Lessee, so that makes . . . One rake for an elven queen far off in forest glade. One rake for the dwarven lords deep in their mountain. One rake for a king of men whose heart is perhaps too proud. One rake to rule them all and in the autumn bind them. Check, check, check and check.

We're back to putting down the surface gravel on the U-32 trails by Winooski Bridge. Finally resuming the work that had been underway before the July 10 storm. And it feels epic.

October 20, 2023

Storm clean up at the Peace Park.

Montpelier High School had a fall festival yesterday, with the morning spent doing service projects all around town. CVTA joined with one group of students cleaning up lingering storm debris at the Peace Park on the bike path - still lots of trash and silt from July floods hanging around along the Winooski.

October 4, 2023

Storm cleanup at the Winooski Bridge project, proceeding apace.

Have finished cleaning up between Winooski Bridge and Route 2 trailhead at Hidden Dam, adding more gravel and smoothing/compacting the many small washouts.

Note that the slump of the trail behind the guardrail next to Route 2 is still not repaired. This is a larger project that involves the highway. It will be worked on by VTrans later this Fall.

October 3, 2023

One step forward. Opening the next element of the new trails on either side of the Winooski Bridge.

The Penstock Trail is open! This simple walking trail along the bank of the river forms a loop with the railtrail. It is a moderately difficult trail which is narrow and has uneven footing with some steep spots. But I bet your dog can bound along it joyfully. This is all between Gallison Hill Road and the big trail bridge, downhill from the railbed, in the woods.

Click for larger image.

October 1, 2023

Perfect fall weather and good company at the Foliage Ride yesterday.

For the 26th running of the Cross Vermont Trail Fall Foliage Ride enjoyed some breaks of fast cruising on the railbed, mixed with long conversations at the 8 mile snacks table, and little off trail exploring too.

September 16, 2023

Quorum Achieved!

A pleasant, brief annual meeting with plenty of comfortable seating - all of our goals were achieved Sept 16 at the 2023 CVTA Annual Meeting, held at the Winooski Bridge project construction site.

Especially, it was nice to talk more with some folks we don't often get a chance to geek out about trails with.

September 14, 2023

Cross Vt Trail featured on bike packing podcast.

"They called us loopers" he said. So now they've got a name. Bikepacking enthusiast and podcaster Ben Hall recently made a trip starting in St. J. down to Wells River over on the Cross Vt Trail then up to the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail and back around to St. J.

His website covers a remarkable broad range of subjects and - just kidding, it's really just a lot about bikes and trails. And so it makes sense that his most recent podcast is an interview with CVTA Executive Director Greg Western.

Listen to this show and more at neddirt.com.

September 14, 2023

New section of Cross Vermont Trail officially opens on railbed!

The railbed between John Fowler Road in Marshfield and the Plainfield Park and Ride in Plainfield Village is now officially open as the newest section of the Cross Vermont Trail. Yes, people have "traditionally" used the railbed here as a trail for many years, but now we have real permission from the landowners - a private parcel and also two parcels owned by the Town of Plainfield. Please keep in mind that the private parcel is open to public use on condition that trail users Stay On The Trail, do not trespass into the fields and forest to the sides of the trail where you see the "Posted" signs.

East to West: from Rte 2 turn left onto John Folwer Road. Literally go over the river and through the woods and up a short hill on this dirt road. Then turn right onto the old railbed. The Cross Vermont Trail follows the railbed for a half mile to the Plainfield Park & Ride. Continue through the Village on Main St. back out to Rte 2 and turn left onto the highway.

This notice affects Map 4.

Click on the images below for larger versions.

September 13, 2023

Storm clean up report: Two months out from the big flood, happy to report have completed all the "odd and ends" of smaller repairs - on the sections of trail where CVTA is the primary lead for care and maintenance. See Storm Updates Page for current status section by section.

Here is a before and after for a slumped area at a culvert on the rail trail:

Next up, we are returning to the Winooski Bridge project. Aiming for a productive Fall season to get caught up there.

Meanwhile, be cautioned that several significant areas of storm damage - where CVTA partners with State and Town governments - have still not been repaired, and there are some trail closures still in effect. These larger repairs will take some time to get done, but it is going to happen.

August 29, 2023

Storm clean up report: Finished patching numerous small washouts and emergent mud holes on the rail trail between Route 14 in East Montpelier and Country Club Rd in Plainfield.

To the person who marked all the spots with orange paint, keep that paint dry! but job done for now. (Except for the one annoying rock that sticks up in the railbed, still thinking about that one.)

August 9, 2023

Storm clean up report: The washout on railbed just south of Rickers Mill has been repaired. This was the one significant bad storm spot in Town of Groton - the trail between Rickers Mill and Pine Mt is otherwise as normal. Stay tuned for a major refurbishing of this section being planned by the town, to be done later this fall and next spring.

August 3, 2023

Storm clean up report: For the railbed in Groton State Forest, especially north of Route 232, the State Forest folks are planning for some larger fixes. The work will require more than just "filling in the hole" - with an eye towards addressing the root issues that made the bed prone to collapsing in the storm. It may take a bit to get all that designed, permitted and then contracted out. Meanwhile, this section of the railbed is definitely closed.

August 2, 2023

Storm clean up report: The green path along Winooski River behind Waterbury State Office Complex and through Hope Cemetery to Winooski St. in Waterbury is generally open, rough in spots. Two locations are flagged as hazardous, walk around them. CVTA volunteers helped clean up the remainder of flood debris and eclectic accumulations of trash and cleared brush and branches etc blocking the trail. Also we straightened the bench (very satisfying)! Meanwhile, the two big holes and all the piles of sand will be cleaned up by the State BGS folks - they are on the case, stay tuned.

August 1, 2023

Storm clean up report: CVTA volunteers have leveled and reset the "floated away but not for far" boardwalk on the Blue Mt School trail.

July 28, 2023

Clean up from storm is underway. Richmond Trails Committee showed up in force earlier this week to shovel silt off of the boardwalks, clean ditches, and regrade small gullies in the tread, on the Johnnie Brook Trail.

Statewide tally of storm impacts to Cross Vermont Trail posted up here.

July 14, 2023

Flood Updates, first news.

The Cross Vermont Trail (Montpelier & Wells River Rail Trail) in Marshfield and Groton is closed. There are numerous washouts and impacts to bridges, which are still being assessed.

The western half of Cross Vermont Trail route from Burlington to East Montpelier, and also in Wells River in the far east, appears to be basically OK based on initial survey. Of course there is evidence that a lot of water came through and fair amount of clean up is ahead of us. There may be ongoing news of further impacts to the route, especially where the route is associated with roads as they get fully assessed by VTrans and by Towns.

Now is not the time to plan a statewide or longer trip (not that anyone is I am sure.) However, if there is a local trail near you that you regularly use, it may be OK and is worth checking out.

The new Winooski Bridge did fine and was high and clear of the flood even at crest. Turns out hiring all those engineers to design the expensive version was worth it, who knew?

On the railtrail east of Route 14 all is well at "the big blowout" from 2011. The new bridge let the water pass as we planned. I never had any doubt except for maybe a little.

On the Johnnie Brook Trail in Richmond, you can see the mud line where the boardwalk was completely submerged, and the green of the trees that were above water level. But after water went down, the trail appears to be at first look the same as always. Amazing.

July 12, 2023

Annual Meeting rescheduled!

We are canceling on July 15 (because, there was a flood.) And we are rescheduling for September 16 (because Sept is going to be great, I can feel it).

Otherwise no changes to the detail, we'll meet at the Winooski Bridge site, etc. Hope to see you in September to swap some stories!

July 8, 2023

Annual Meeting INVITE

Next Saturday July 15 at 10 AM (and lasting just about an hour) we are gathering at the Winooski Bridge site.

It's the first ever Cross Vermont Trail Association "stand alone" (but we'll actually stand together) annual meeting. Usually our focus is on the "Cross Vermont Trail" part of the organization. This time though it is the "Association" part getting to be front and center.

How this helps make more trail.

We always say that one of the magic tricks of CVTA is to be just big enough to do the work that needs to be done, but without making a bigger deal of things, organizationally, than needed.

An important element of being "as big as we need to be" is our hard won status as an incorporated non-profit charity which is governed with by-laws and a volunteer board AND which is ultimately a member based organization, by and for the community who support and join in our mission and vision.

That's you. You are the community members who have joined together to make this vision a reality. Thanks!

The annual meeting is a chance for us all to get together and share thoughts about what CVTA is up to and where we are headed. We want to provide updates and information as well as hear new ideas.

(Also, ahem, it's a requirement of the by-laws that we have to elect the Board at the annual meeting with a quorum of at least 15 people, not to throw too many nuts and bolts here.)

The (very formal) meeting agenda:

1.) Elect Board Members. Currently we have seven folks ready to continue on the Board. (Also, there's room for three more to join, something to consider!) Current slate:

2.) First Annual Honoration of a Trail Booster of Note. (Working on a better name for this award.) (Also trying to decide if the award should be a certificate, or a pie.) 2023 honoree is East Montpelier's Nancy Chickering! The last few years Nancy has been an ace in the hole trail bridge construction volunteer at the "big washout" on the railbed east of Route 14 and then on the new trail in the U-32 Forest. Thanks Nancy! (Plus this tricks her into attending the meeting to help us get our quorum.)

3.) Update and discussion of the current work of CVTA and a tour of the ongoing construction site around the Winooski Bridge. (This is actually the majority of the hour.)

Location Directions: Go to Gallison Hill Road in Montpelier. Across the street from the Central Vermont Civic Center you'll see the old railbed which is now the trail (but the trail signs are not up yet). Normally the railbed is not open to vehicle traffic beyond the trailhead parking lot, but for this event it's OK to drive out to the end of the bed at the Winooski Hydroelectric Co. dam site. Of course if you walk or bike out that's even better.

Next Year: We will rotate the annual meeting to different locations along our full route. Coming to a trail near you as we work to make the statewide Cross Vermont Trail a reality!

July 4, 2023

Getting the treadway gravel down on new trail through U-32 School Forest.

Older Posts

 
back to Cross Vermont Trail home page