The New York State Department of Environmental (DEC) today advised that personnel involved in developing the final design and construction plan for the Adirondack Rail Trail will be working in the corridor beginning Monday August 7.  DEC will be in the area for periods of times at various locations over the two months doing various work. A more specific schedule will be provided to adjacent landowners via notification letters in the coming weeks.

Residents along the corridor between Tupper Lake and Lake Placid may observe personnel from DEC, Creighton Manning, and other consultants assessing, investigating, and surveying infrastructure, natural areas, and other places in the corridor to prepare for permitting, designing, and constructing the multi-use trail. The work will be undertaken over the next many weeks and includes, but is not limited to engineering surveys, wetland delineations, geotechnical explorations, and property boundary survey.

In late April, DEC released a Draft Adirondack Rail Trail Conceptual Plan outlining the general design and features of the future 34-mile, multi-use recreational trail on the bed of the former railway. Information about the plan was provided at four informational meetings, two availability sessions, and two public meetings during the month of May. Public comment was provided verbally at the two public meetings and in writing via letters and emails.

DEC is finalizing the response to public comment including providing comments relevant to the final design of the trail to Creighton Manning, the firm hired to design and oversee the construction of the trail.

In May 2016, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the final plan to govern the use of the 119-mile travel corridor from Remsen to Lake Placid. The final plan, incorporated into an amendment to the Remsen Lake Placid Travel Corridor Unit Management Plan signed by DEC and the Department of Transportation (DOT), describes the means to maximize the future use and economic benefits of the corridor. The plan calls for DEC to manage the design, construction, and operation of the 34-mile recreational trail.

Since late summer, a stakeholder group has been working to inform the development of a conceptual design and operation plan for the trail. The stakeholder group is comprised of elected officials or their delegated representatives from the three villages and four towns along the corridor, DEC, Office of General Services, Adirondack Park Agency officials, ROOST, and local representatives from the biking, hiking, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling communities.