Construction Ashuwillticook Rail Trail Extension to Pittsfield Begins

Berkshire County's rail trail will continue into Pittsfield in the next year and then through South County in the future.

In mid-December, construction began on the extension of the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail that will connect Adams to Pittsfield.

This 1.56-mile extension will run south from the vicinity of mall Connector Road to Crane Avenue. The trail will be a 10 feet-wide, paved, shared-use path that is part of the trail system that currently runs nearly 13 miles through Lanesborough to Lime Street in Adams.

The trail extension currently under design will travel along Route 8 for several hundred feet and then around the boundaries of Unistress Construction yard. It will then go back up to the former Housatonic Railroad rail bed and at that point will stay on the old rail bed straight down to Crane Avenue.

The rail right of way was recently acquired by the state and is now under the control of the state Department of Transportation. The trail will be completely off-roadway and will cross the Connector Road and the access road to the Berkshire County House of Correction at grade.

Read all the details now at iBerkshires.com now.