Work Progressing On Cheney Trail System In Manchester

MANCHESTER, CT — Work is progressing on a project to extend the Cheney Rail Trail.

Manchester Economic Development official were touting the extension this week. The current work is designed to extend it in the historic district to Forest Street.

That's within "a stone's throw of the East Coast Greenway," officials said.

The Lofts at the Mills housing complex is endorsing the project.

The Cheney Rail Trail runs concurrently with part of the old South Manchester Railroad, built by the Cheney brothers in 1869. The rail line was a 2.5-mile spur from the main Hartford, Providence, and Fishkill Railroad and it went to the Cheney silk mills, to bring passengers, silk goods and raw materials too the heart of Manchester's manufacturing sector.

This historic railroad was known both as the longest privately owned passenger-and-freight system, as well as one of the shortest routes in America.

The Manchester Land Conservation Trust owns roughly 1.7 linear miles of the rail bed.

One other notable improvement to the Cheney Trail was the replacement of a section of stairs at Middle Turnpike West with a ramp that features a 10 percent grade.

The East Coast Greenway features 200 miles that run through Connecticut from the coast to inland sections.