Supporters of a Derry rail trail are suing to block a decades-long construction project to build a new exit on Interstate 93, alleging the state’s latest design violates federal law by rerouting pedestrian access away from a historic railroad line.
The Committee to Save the Derry Rail Trail Tunnel, along with a national rails to trails advocacy group, say the recently modified designs for the Exit 4A project ignore protections given to a railroad corridor that dates to the 1840s.
Those behind the lawsuit want a judge to halt the project, alleging the revised plan ignores an historic designation previously given to the former M&L Railroad, which dates to 1847. The suit also alleges the route poses a safety risk to cyclists due to a series of sharp turns and a six-lane road crossing.
Their federal lawsuit was filed against the Federal Highway Administration and the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, as it seeks to complete a highway project that was first approved in 1988, but has been plagued by delays. Stretches of the new exit and access road near the Londonderry-Derry town line are already under construction.
New Hampshire transportation officials say they followed the proper procedures to modify the design, which is estimated to save about $750,000.
Neither the state or federal highway agencies have responded yet to the lawsuit, but N.H. Transportation Commissioner William Cass told NHPR that he is “confident proper process was followed” in crafting the new design.
While the original design for the project included a tunnel that would allow unfettered movement along a newly paved trail underneath an access road near the new interchange, the state is now planning to construct a more meandering trail that would use a crosswalk.
“This is going to be a laughing stock,” said Bob Spiegelman, a bicycle advocate who is part of the group suing over the proposal. “People are going to come to this area, and if they see this route, they're going to go: What are those people in New Hampshire thinking?”
A current rail trail begins in Salem and heads north along a paved, protected route into Derry. According to Spiegelman, there is an approximately one-mile gap where the Derry trail ends and the Londonderry rail trail starts again.
The original proposal would have completed this stretch of rail trail along — and in some places adjacent to — the former railroad tracks. The new design, however, calls for a series of turns that its critics label as a “spaghetti loop” in their court filing. Riders along the trail would also have to navigate a six-lane road crossing.
“I think DOT is very right to examine costs and cut money where they can,” said Spiegelman. “I don't think this is one, because of the safety issue.”
In 2023, the New Hampshire House decisively rejected a bill that would have earmarked money for the tunnel.
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