Gov. Andrew Cuomo has announced the start of construction on a new section of the Erie Canalway Trail between Ilion and Mohawk in Herkimer County.
The new 1.9-mile trail will help to close a nearly 20-mile gap in the Mohawk Valley section of the Empire State Trail. The project was approved at the New York Power Authority and the New York State Canal during a recent board meeting.
NYPA and the Canal Corp. have selected Carver Construction of Altamont to build the new trail that will connect the Village of Ilion to the Village of Mohawk. Pre-construction activities on the project have already begun and the new trail is expected to be substantially completed by December 2020.
The project includes a 10-foot wide, 1.9-mile long asphalt path and a 130-foot long pedestrian bridge over Fulmer Creek. Once complete, it will connect the Frankfort to Ilion trail segment to the existing Mohawk trail.
The Ilion to Mohawk trail is one of four projects in the Mohawk Valley that are part of an initiative to close a nearly 20-mile gap in the Erie Canalway Trail. The other three— Lock E-18 to Route 167 (2.2 miles), Frankfort to Ilion (2.4 miles) and Utica to Dyke Road (3.5 miles) — are currently under construction and will also be completed by the end of 2020.
