A section of the Northern Rail Trail in Andover is back open to the public after the state of New Hampshire reached an agreement with a landowner who had blocked access to it.
The agreement announced Friday comes a week after the state Attorney General’s office took the property owner to court over the issue.
The state says the jersey barriers put up by the landowner at both ends of a mile-long stretch of the trail are gone. The trail will stay open while the lawsuit continues.
This temporary agreement does not resolve the underlying issues with the rail corridor, including the state’s argument that it has authority to operate and manage the trail.
The landowner, Leonard Caron, put up the barriers amid a dispute with the state over his use of the corridor to access his property.
“The state will continue to protect this important public resource and ensure that it remains available for the people of New Hampshire,” Attorney General John Formella said in a statement.
The Northern Rail Trail runs 59 miles from Boscawen to Lebanon and is the longest rail trail in the state.
