What's New!

On October 28 , 2021, advocacy representatives were shocked to learn that NHDOT scrapped plans for a bike-ped tunnel under the planned Route 93 Exit 4-A connector road project in Derry. The tunnel solution had been in place, agreed upon by all parties, and fully funded for years.

Shockingly, instead of the more direct, safer, and more sensible bike-ped tunnel, which would simply be a continuation of the rail trail route, the project plans now show a circuitous, cumbersome, and totally unsafe bike-ped route. The proposed non-tunnel route includes down and up 5% grades, 90-degree turns, a 180-degree switchback, shared use of a sidewalk, travel under a bridge built to span a brook known to flood, and optionally crossing 6-lanes of traffic on a signalized crosswalk. In addition to being unsafe, the non-tunnel route would more than quadruple the distance bike-ped users would have to travel. The “tunnel plan” was included in the 2019 public Ten Year Plan GACIT hearings and reportedly fully funded with Federal money and Toll Credits, so no impact on the state or local towns. Only two months ago did we learn that the Town of Derry and one local rail trail supporter, both without trail design or bike safety experience, had been working with NHDOT since mid-2020 to advance a totally unsafe, impractical, and arguably illegal “alternative.” BWANH, NHRTC, and the GSRT have undertaken a major publicity campaign to have NHDOT restore the original and infinitely more appropriate tunnel plan. In December, an online petition was circulated through a variety of groups via social media platforms. Over 2,200 individuals signed the petition to restore the original tunnel plan.