March 25, 2014 by EW

Brattleboro Bridge Project: Week of March 24, 2014

The West River Trail is open from the northern trailhead to a point just north of the bridge construction area. The northern trailhead access location is on Rice Farm Road, about a mile south of the Iron Bridge. The trail is closed at the Marina Trailhead and through access will not be permitted from the north. Truck activity on the West River Trail will be increasing heavily throughout the spring and summer. For everyone’s safety, recreational users of the West River Trail should seek out alternative access points to the West River Trail or one of several other trails available to the community. Signage at the Marina Trailhead and Rice Farm Road Trailhead will indicate current trail status. Check the project’s website for the current status of the trail.
If you would like additional information, or would like to add others to this distribution list, please contact Cindy Cook, Public Relations Officer, Adamant Accord, Inc. ccook@adamantaccord.com.

March 6, 2014 by EW

Public Invited to Trail Talk for I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Project

The PCL+FIGG Team will conduct the next on-site “trail talk” for the Public on Saturday, March 8, 2014. These trail talks will discuss the status of the I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Project and allow the public to ask questions. The talks will originate at the West River Trail near the marina. The trail talk will be led by Caleb Linn, Project Manager for PCL (lead contractor), and Garrett Hoffman, Design Manager for FIGG (bridge designer).
Interested participants should meet the PCL+FIGG Team at the West River Trail trailhead on Saturday, March 8, 2014, at 8 a.m. and the talk will begin at 8:15 a.m. Participants will walk the trail to the I-91 bridge site, so please wear appropriate clothing and footwear.
The project’s website features up-to-date information about the project, construction photos, and live traffic cameras. If you would like additional information, or would like to be added to the email distribution list for all project updates, please contact Cindy Cook, Public Relations Officer, Adamant Accord, Inc. at ccook@adamantaccord.com.

February 27, 2014 by EW

36 Miles of Trouble: The Story of the West River R.R

The following is a guest post by Dan Snow.

Excellent cross-country skiing conditions can be found these days on the newly established West River Trail. The former rail bed along the east bank is ideal for gliding over the snow pack. Glimpses of the frozen waterway and woodlands are peaceful today but the stillness is deceiving. It masks a time not so long ago when the air was full of anticipation. The driving wheels of a steam locomotive made the iron rails sing underfoot and soon a thirty-car train would come chugging by.

Evidence of the days when trains passed through West Dummerston twice a day have mostly disappeared. What’s left to see is an old station house in the village and the granite piers at the river’s edge that once held up a bridge. Fortunately, a lively remembrance of the Brattleboro and Whitehall Rail Road Company was written by Victor Morse and published by Stephen Green Press in 1959. 36 Miles of Trouble: The Story of the West River R.R. chronicles the slow rise and long decline of the line. Morse earned college money on the West River line. As an adult, he operated a saw mill in Brattleboro that made railroad cross-ties. Growing up, I knew him as my father’s no-nonsense friend who’s wool pants were permanently caked in sawdust. His wry sense of humor only came out full-force on the pages of 36 Miles of Trouble. By turns, a historical document and a personal remembrance, the slim volume is a testament to the first, and last, time that the citizens of West River Valley were hitched, for better or worse, to a mode of public transportation.

“The West River Railroad’s best years were its first. In the two decades before the turn of the (20th) century it enjoyed its greatest patronage, which was nothing to rejoice about and gave its best service, which was nothing to excite praise. Unreliable as West River trains came to be, it was never strictly true that they would wait at the station for a hen to lay another egg so the farmer would have a dozen to send to Brattleboro.” (From 36 Miles of Trouble)

February 21, 2014 by EW

Birding on the West River

Save the date! Sneak Preview of an event coming up this spring!
Sponsored by The Vermont Land Trust:
Birding on the West River
DATE: Saturday, May 17
TIME: 7:30 –10:00 AM
PLACE: Riverstone Preserve, West River Trail, Brattleboro, VT
River corridors provide important habitat for migratory and breeding birds. Grab your binoculars and look for birds along the West River Trail.
Registration coming soon! We’ll keep you posted! Check the VLT website for more information.

February 20, 2014 by EW

I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project Update: Week of February 23rd, 2014

Over a foot of beautiful powder snow = great ski and snowshoe conditions on the trail! The West River Trail is open from the northern trailhead to a point just north of the bridge construction area. The trail will be closed at the Marina Trailhead and through access will not be permitted from the north, due to unsafe ground conditions.
Signage at the Marina Trailhead and Rice Farm Road Trailhead will indicate current trail status. Check the project’s website for up to date information on the current status of the trail. The northern trailhead access location is on Rice Farm Road, about a mile south of the Iron Bridge.
If you would like additional information, or would like to add others to this distribution list, please contact Cindy Cook, Public Relations Officer, Adamant Accord, Inc. ccook@adamantaccord.com.

February 8, 2014 by EW

I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project Update Week of February 9th, 2014

The skiing and snowshoeing is fabulous and the West River Trail is open from the northern trailhead to a point just north of the bridge construction area. The northern trailhead access location is on Rice Farm Road, about a mile south of the Iron Bridge.

The trail will be closed at the Marina Trailhead and through access will not be permitted from the north, due to unsafe ground conditions. Signage at the Marina Trailhead and Rice Farm Road Trailhead will indicate current trail status. Check the project’s website for up to date information on the current status of the trail.
If you would like additional information, please contact Cindy Cook, Public Relations Officer, Adamant Accord, Inc. ccook@adamantaccord.com.

January 31, 2014 by EW

Trail Talk for I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Project on February 8

The PCL+FIGG Team will conduct the next on-site “trail talk” for the Public on Saturday, February 8, 2014. These trail talks will discuss the status of the I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Project and allow the public to ask questions. The talks will originate at the West River Trail near the marina. The trail talk will be led by Caleb Linn, Project Manager for PCL (lead contractor), and Garrett Hoffman, Design Manager for FIGG (bridge designer).

Interested participants should meet the PCL+FIGG Team at the West River Trail trailhead on Saturday, February 8, 2014, at 8 a.m. and the talk will begin at 8:15 a.m. Participants will walk the trail to the I-91 bridge site, so please wear appropriate clothing and footwear.

The project’s website features up-to-date information about the project, construction photos, and live traffic cameras. If you would like additional information, or would like to be added to the email distribution list for all project updates, please contact Cindy Cook, Public Relations Officer, Adamant Accord, Inc. ccook@adamantaccord.com.

January 16, 2014 by EW

Friends of the West River Trail Acquire and Conserve Key Land Parcel

The following article was originally published in The Commons issue #237 (Wednesday, January 15, 2014). To read the full article click here.

BRATTLEBORO—The Friends of the West River Trail and the Vermont Land Trust completed the purchase and conservation of a 23-acre parcel along the West River about a half-mile north of the Interstate 91 bridge. Renamed the Riverstone Preserve, this ecologically diverse site is nestled between the river and the corridor of the historic former West River Railroad.
The West River Trail, now occupying that corridor, is a dominant feature of the property. The trail is used for hiking, bicycling, cross-country skiing, and other non-motorized activities.
The Friends of the West River Trail and the Vermont Land Trust (VLT) worked together to purchase and conserve this parcel. The two organizations received a $65,050 grant from the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board (VHCB) and raised $32,200 in local funds and foundation grants. The Friends own the property and future uses will be in accordance with a conservation easement held by VHCB and VLT. “The Friends are so pleased to have had the opportunity to work with the Vermont Land Trust to conserve this piece of land,” said Kathleen White. “We are grateful to VHCB for the award and to all the donors that helped make this possible, and are excited about how public access to this land will benefit the community.” The land has an unusually rich complement of natural communities, including a floodplain forest, river shore grasslands, and river cobble shore. There are also several rare and uncommon plants, insects, and mussels, whose habitat is now protected.
“The Friends are a dynamic group of volunteers,” said Joan Weir, southeast regional director with the Vermont Land Trust. “It’s been a pleasure to work on this project and we look forward to seeing the continued active stewardship of this treasured resource”. The Friends sought to protect this property because of its ecological features and the recreational, scenic, and educational benefits the land can provide to the greater Brattleboro community.
Plans include enhancing the trail’s accessibility as a community amenity for recreation and school field trips. A picnic area and side trails that provide access to the river shore are envisioned.

January 14, 2014 by EW

End of Season Vermont Youth Conservation Corps Report

Last summer, major trail improvements were the result of the hard work of a crew from the Vermont Youth Conservation Corps. Click the link below to read the end of season report on the VYCC crew time spent on the West River Trail this year. Many thanks to Keegan Tierney, Operations Director and the fabulous VYCC crew!
VYCC Report 2013 Friends of the West River

January 14, 2014 by EW

I-91 Brattleboro Bridge Replacement Project Update Week of January 12th, 2014

The West River Trail is open from the northern trailhead to a point just north of the bridge construction area. The northern trailhead access location is on Rice Farm Road, Dummerston, about a mile south of the Iron Bridge.
The trail will be closed at the Marina Trailhead and through access will not be permitted from the north, due to unsafe ground conditions.
Signage at the Marina Trailhead and Rice Farm Road Trailhead will indicate current trail status. Check the project’s website for up to date information on the current status of the trail.
If you would like additional information, please contact Cindy Cook, Public Relations Officer, Adamant Accord, Inc. ccook@adamantaccord.com.