Another piece of the Merrimack River Greenway Trail — a particularly wet and soggy piece — has come $375,000 closer to fruition.
“It reminds me of a mangrove swamp,” said Nick Holmes, vice president of Friends of the Merrimack River Greenway Trail, about a 1.5-mile stretch through Terrill Park along the Merrimack River.
The area floods in the spring and is boggy much of the time, which complicates plans to run the long-discussed hiking/biking trail through it. But, “there’s no way around it,” said Dick Lemieux, the group’s president.
The solution: An elevated boardwalk, flat enough for wheelchairs and wide enough for emergency vehicles. Construction is likely to cost around $1.1 million, spread between the city government and the Friends group with financial details yet to be decided.
The project got a boost recently with a $468,750 contribution from the state’s business tax credit fund via the Community Development Finance Authority, which will translate into roughly $375,000 once an 80/20 match is factored in. The Friends are raising money to help close the gap.
If all goes well, the boardwalk could be finished by the early 2030s, Lemieux said. It will close a gap in the trail between Loudon Road and Manchester Street and eventually it will be part of the 12.7-mile Merrimack River Greenway Trail running north-south through Concord.
The complete trail is unlikely to be finished in much less than a decade because some missing pieces, including a 3-mile stretch around Garvins Falls, still need to be worked on.
Under the Community Development Finance Authority tax credit program, businesses that donate money toward local projects get a break on state business enterprise or profits tax equal to about 82% of the donation. It’s a great incentive for business donations, Lemieux said.
The Merrimack River Greenway Trail will connect to the Northern Rail Trail in Boscawen at the northern end and to trails in Pembroke at the southern end.
