LISBON — Final plans for a $1.6 million recreational trail linking Lisbon Falls with the downtown village are scheduled to be reviewed Wednesday. A public hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Town Office.

“This is a last chance for people to give feedback,” said Ryan Leighton, Lisbon’s town engineer.

There have been other chances, including an introductory meeting held almost a year ago.

Since then, there have been several other meetings, but this final hearing has been postponed twice due to the weather.

“We hope it will finally happen,” Leighton said.

Engineers plan to share maps, photos and diagrams of the trail proposal.

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The project is being funded mostly through state and federal sources. The remaining 20 percent, about $320,000, is being funded by a town bond.

Work is slated to begin this summer and could continue into next spring.

One of the challenges for the project is to work through the environmental permitting process.

Already, trail planners have spent a lot of time with the Maine Department of Transportation to work out an agreement that allowed the trail to make two railroad crossings.

The crossings were needed to keep the trail close to the Androscoggin River, Leighton said. 

The train tracks, owned by the state, link Lewiston and Brunswick but are not currently in use.

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Eventually, regional land use leaders hope to link Lewiston and Brunswick through a trail system that also follows the river.

The proposed trail is 2.13 miles and will connect with a 1.5-mile trail. The two together would allow people to walk a path from Lisbon Falls to the downtown village area without walking along busy Route 196.

The new section would run south from the Sabattus River boat launch beside Route 196 to the area behind Lisbon High School and end at the Maine Department of Transportation park-and-ride lot.

The trail is planned to be 10 feet wide and paved. It is meant to be used for a variety of activities, including walking and bicycling.

The current trail runs north from the Sabattus River boat launch, past Lisbon Community School and ends at the intersection of Route 196 and Village Street.

dhartill@sunjournal.com


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