Open House Coming Up on Dryden Rail Trail “Bridging” Route 13

DRYDEN, N.Y. -- A major component to the Dryden Rail Trail project is on the horizon.  

A steel prefabricated pedestrian-cycle bridge is planned to go over NYS Route 13. It will connect a 10 foot wide stone dust trail from Monkey Run Road to Hall Woods Road.

The Town of Dryden will be holding an Open House on June 30th from 5 to 8 pm at Neptune Fire Hall (26 North Street, Dryden, NY) regarding this expansion to the Dryden Rail Trail Project.

The bridge is being funded through a $1.5 million grant from New York State’s  Transportation Enhancement Program. The bridge will ultimately allow the rail trail to the connect Ithaca to Varna, Etna, Freeville, and Dryden with a pedestrian/bike trail. 

The Dryden Rail Trail Project began  in 2016. They were able to start this trail after the Department of Environmental Conservation approved Dryden’s request to have the trail on 2,600 feet of state property in 2017.

Progress has steady since then. In 2019, a trail was completed to connect Dryden to Freeville on what used to be the Lehigh Valley rail bed. In addition to the $1.5 million from the grant, the project has also received $700,000 in additional funding from town and grant sources.

Bob Beck is the Chair of the Dryden Rail Trail Task Force. He said, “The Rail Trail Task Force and Friends of the Dryden Rail Trail look forward to meeting with all community members interested in this exciting phase of the Dryden Rail Trail Project.”

The Facebook event for the open house can be found here.