WESTFIELD – The Friends of the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail met on July 25 to enjoy some ice cream and celebrate the receipt of a Mass Trails Grant in the amount of $61,500 to study the northward extension of the CGRT to Route 10, with the vision of connecting to Southampton and their future 3.5-mile Rail Trail construction.

Dan Call, a member of the Friends’ Westfield North Sub-committee, said currently there is a major rail trail corridor north from Northampton and going south to New Haven, CT, which will be the New Haven to Northampton Greenway.

“This new corridor has one remaining gap that requires construction in order to complete pedestrian rail trail passage, which requires a connection between Westfield and Southampton’s future rail trail plans,” Call said.

Call said the Department of Conservation and Recreation grant awarded to Westfield is $61,500 for the CGRT Trail northward extension currently being reviewed by Westfield’s Engineering Dept. A local grant match of $15,500 is already included in the Engineering Department’s FY22 budget.

Westfield Civil Engineer Mark Cressotti, who also serves on the Westfield North subcommittee along with Call, John Tassinari, and Bob Hamel, said the city has selected Toole Design out of Boston, one of the more prominent trail designer firms, as a consultant for the project.

“This Mass Trails grant will look at how to extend the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail from Woman’s Temperance Park, where the central section will end, to connect to the planned multi-use trail on Southampton Road,” Cressotti said, adding that both projects are in the planning stages and a couple of years out, with a completion date of 2025 at the earliest. He said both will require public input.

“The Westfield North Sub-Committee continues to look forward to working with both the Engineering Dept and with our new on-board consultant with a goal of moving this exciting project forward,” Call said, adding, “Thanks to everyone who has helped in moving this project further down the line.”