Noyes Fiber Systems contributes $5k to Winnipesaukee River Trail in Tilton

Noyes Fiber Systems of Belmont, recently awarded the Winnipesaukee River Trail Association with a $5,000 Fujikura Foundation grant to support Phase II engineering of the trail. This section of trail will be located in the right-of-way along the existing railroad line and will provide an alternative bike and pedestrian route between Tilton village and Exit 20. It will be the first trail in the state where the trail will coexist with a live railroad line.

Phase II of the trail will be 1.9-miles long and connect with the existing trail near the Northfield Train Station. Completed in 2005, Phase I of the Winnipesaukee River Trail is a 3.1 mile multi-use pedestrian trail that follows the old the river along the old railroad line running between the Northfield Train Station and downtown Franklin The Winnipesaukee River trail is the first leg of a regional trail network that will one day include Belmont and WOW (Winnipesaukee-Opeeche-Winnisquam) trail in Laconia.

Phase II is expected to bring tourists and travelers to the downtown areas of Tilton, Northfield and Franklin. “The trail follows the same route Native Americans used for thousands of years to travel between Lake Winnipesaukee and the Merrimack River and points south,” stated Carolyn Hurst, board president of the Winnipesaukee River Trail Association. “This grant will help us showcase our natural beauty and historic heritage.” Final route selection for this section will occur as part of the engineering phase which is under way and due to be completed this fall. Construction is scheduled to begin in late fall of 2008 and continue in the spring of 2009.