The New Hampshire Department of Justice will seek a court order to force the reopening of the Northern Rail Trail in Andover, where a resident has placed concrete barriers across the trail near his property.
A title review conducted by the Department of Transportation confirmed that the strip of rail trail in fact belongs to the state and not Leonard Caron, the abutter who blocked access, according to associate attorney general Christopher Bond.
“We feel very strong in our position,” Bond told the Executive Council on Wednesday. He couldn’t give a specific timeline but said the state would request a preliminary injunction “very soon,” asking a judge to order the immediate reopening of the rail trail while the legal matter is hammered out.
The barricade stemmed from a land dispute, in which Caron argues he was denied use of the trail for equipment to reach four landlocked parcels that have no other access routes. He said there was a long-standing agreement to use the track when the railroad owned it.
While the thoroughfare is closed, bikers and other recreationists must travel along Route 4 instead. The barriers have drawn ire and graffiti from people trying to use the trail.
“The blockage and takeover by a rogue abutter is disconcerting,” said Executive Councilor Janet Stevens, who represents the Seacoast. “The cycling community and all rail trail enthusiasts are enraged by the lack of access to a safe exercise corridor paid for with taxpayer dollars.”
The Northern Rail Trail extends 59 miles, from Boscawen to Lebanon.
This article was first published in the Concord Monitor and is being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.