Trail crossing construction underway in Cheshire

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This is work underway at West Main St. (Routes 68 and 70) in Cheshire on a streetscape improvement project, part of which is an improved pedestrian crossing at the location of where the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail will intersect with this busy road when it reaches here. The improvements should be finished this summer and will look like this in plan:
















(That's the island in the center of the roadway, with the future trail shown as a dashed line). This will permit a safer crossing for pedestrians and cyclists of this busy road. It's not ideal, but every little bit helps.

The big news accompanying this stuff is that the section of trail south between here and the current trail end at Cornwall Ave. (and around the often irksome Dalton Co. property) is being designed by the CT DOT, while Milone & MacBroom of Cheshire is designing the section from here north to Jarvis St.. This would still leave a gap between Jarvis St. north to the trail end in Southington, but, I have been told that CT DOT is designing this as well. What this means is that the 9.1 mile gap between Curtis/Hart St. in Southington and Red Oak Hill in Farmington, which includes all of Plainville, will be the last remaining gap in the trail. That will put enormous pressure on getting this gap closed and opening the 68 mile CT section of the trail from New Haven to the MA border. The MA towns between there and Northampton are working hard to get their sections of built. We can almost taste the sweetness of riding all 84 miles one day soon. 

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