North Shore Rail Trail Project Recognized For Improving Quality-Of-Life

MOUNT SINAI, NY — The 10-mile North Shore Rail Trail project, which spans from Mount Sinai to Wading River, has won the American Society of Civil Engineers' Quality-of-Life Award.

The yearly award, presented to a project that has improved the quality-of-life for residents on Long Island, was accepted by members of the Suffolk County Department of Public Works.

The project includes a multi-use recreational path, which runs from Mount Sinai to Wading River, and is equipped with various amenities, including kiosks at trailheads and quarter-mile markers. It has been built along the Wading River railway line, abandoned in 1938, and now owned by the Long Island Power Authority. There's 36 road crossings and links that connect the hamlets of Mount Sinai, Miller Place, Sound Beach, Rocky Point, Shoreham, and Wading River.

It was completed in collaboration with the towns, local utilities, and the state's Department of Transportation.

Legis. Sarah Anker, who helped bring the project to fruition, said the project was made possible by the "collaboration and commitment of all levels of government," as well as utility providers and it had the support of our local community."

"I am pleased to have this project recognized," she said. "This path will not only provide a safer way to recreate, but it also brings the community together and provides economic support for our local businesses."

She said that County Executive Steve Bellone, Public Works, NV5 Engineering, DF Stone Construction, and her staff were all instrumental in the successful completion of the project.

Bellone called Suffolk a "home to some amazing recreational attractions" like world-class beaches, natural parks, and countless outdoor activities that attract people from all over the world.

“I am honored that the North Shore Rail Trail has received the Quality-of-Life Award and I hope that it encourages more people to explore all of the exciting recreational activities Suffolk has to offer," he added.

County officials said the path has biking and hiking opportunities at multiple access points throughout the corridor and it allows for an improvement in recreational options for residents, as well as promotes local tourism throughout Suffolk while complimenting the Bellone's vision "for an interconnected hiking and biking trail network throughout the county."

Community members can access downtown Rocky Point and browse in shops and grab bites to eat all the way into Mount Sinai, officials said.

Suffolk finished its county-wide Hike and Bike Master Plan, a comprehensive and coordinated vision for a connected network of hiking and biking trails county-wide to facilitate transportation, recreation, tourism, and economic development. It maps the existing hiking and biking network, identifies gaps, and contains a plan to prioritize and build out the gaps.

The plan recommends over 1,200 miles of bike facilities, placing 84 percent of county residents within one-half-mile of a hiking or biking facility.

It also calls for the completion of a one-mile gap between the 3.5-mile Setauket Greenway and the 10-mile North Shore Rail Trail, which would create a link from Setauket to Wading River.

The project cost $8.2 million with the federal government funding 94 percent.