Another trail with a big milestone in 2023 is the New Hampshire Seacoast Greenway. This year, construction is expected to begin on Phase 1A of the trail, which will span 8 miles from Portsmouth to North Hampton.
The NHSG is a game-changing trail for the Granite State, the Seacoast, New England, and the East Coast Greenway. When completed, it will fully connect New Hampshire’s coast from north to south, Maine to Massachusetts, Eastern Trail to Border-to-Boston Trail. It will virtually complete the East Coast Greenway vision for the state. It will be over 14 miles of quiet, nature-bathed, low-stress active transportation for people of all ages and abilities.
Design and construction are being managed by NHDOT after the State purchased the former rail corridor a few years ago. The corridor is technically traversable in a few areas for those with a mountain bike who don’t mind a bumpy ride. NHDOT will make it a smooth ride by removing the remaining rail ties, grading, and adding a stone dust surface.
To date, NHDOT has allocated $7 million in funding in its Ten Year Plan (TYP) for the project, some of which is CMAQ funding (I think). Substantial coordination has come from the Rockingham Planning Commission (RPC) and most municipalities along the route. The latter will have some trail maintenance responsibilities.
Another milestone in 2023 should be substantial completion of the design for Phase 1B, which will bring the trail another 1.6 miles south from North Hampton into Hampton, though construction of that segment is anticipated in 2024. Phases II and III, from Hampton to the MA state line are in the TYP with an expected construction timeframe of 2030-32.
In October, I was fortunate to be invited by RPC to participate in a charette and site visit looking at trail access strategies for the future trail in North Hampton and Hampton. Below are a few photos I took from that event.
Jeff Brubaker 