A construction vehicle and “TRAIL CLOSED” sign are seen Tuesday, April 18 at the entrance of the 34-mile Adirondack Rail Trail on Station Street in Lake Placid. Phase 1, from Lake Placid to Saranac Lake, is closed to recreational users until construction of the 9-mile section is complete, possibly by September. Construction of Phase 2 — from Saranac Lake to Floodwood Road — will begin in the fall and end in the fall of 2024. Construction of Phase 3 — from Floodwood Road to Tupper Lake — will begin in the fall of 2024 and end in the fall of 2025. (News photo — Andy Flynn)

LAKE PLACID — Officials at the Adirondack Rail Trail Association are informing the public that Phase 1 construction of the Adirondack Rail Trail is beginning and is off limits to the public through the spring and summer months.

Phase 1 is between Station Street in Lake Placid, near the train station, and Broadway in Saranac Lake, near Aubuchon Hardware. It is about 9 miles long. During construction, this section of the trail is closed for recreational users and will reopen in the fall. A September completion is expected.

Barriers with “TRAIL CLOSED” signs have been placed at the roadside entrances of the trail, including Station Street and Old Military Road in Lake Placid and state Route 86 just outside of Saranac Lake. Heavy construction equipment was also seen at the Station Street entrance. And a large blue sign from the state Office of General Services and Department of Environmental Conservation has been placed off the shoulder of Route 86 informing the public of the “recreational multi-use rail trail” project.

“Anyone wishing to use the Adirondack Rail Trail can access the trail between Broadway in Saranac Lake and Tupper Lake,” ARTA announced on its social media platforms on April 19. “Note: Construction has not begun on that segment yet. Be prepared for rough, bumpy riding.”

The rails along the Adirondack Rail Trail were removed in 2021. The DEC and OGS awarded Kubricky Construction Corp. of Wilton, Saratoga County, the $7.9 million contract for the first phase of construction, which began in the fall of 2022. The contract is funded by NY Works, with an additional $225,000 supported by the Environmental Protection Fund for construction oversight and inspections.

This sign for the 34-mile Adirondack Rail Trail’s construction — Phase 1, between Lake Placid and Saranac Lake — was erected in April 2023 at the trail entrance on state Route 86 just outside of Saranac Lake. (News photo — Andy Flynn)

Phase 2 of construction — from Aubuchon Hardware to Floodwood Road — is expected to begin in the fall of this year and be finished in the fall of 2024. Phase 3 of construction — from Floodwood to the Tupper Lake train station — is expected to start in the fall 2024 and finish in the fall 2025.

The trail corridor is 34 miles long by 100 feet wide, with a 2.5-foot shoulder on both sides.

The trail — with the exception of a paved section in the village of Saranac Lake — will have a packed gravel stone dust surface. Construction will include re-leveling, re-surfacing, creating a defined shoulder and trail signage (mile markers and way-finding signs).

When the rail trail is complete, summer users will be able to use it for running, walking and biking — including road bikes, hybrids, mountain bikes, recumbents, fat-tire bikes and class 1 ebikes. Winter users include cross-country skiers, snowshoers, snowmobilers and fat-tire bike riders.

In Lake Placid, work has begun on establishing a terminus for rail trail users. Officials at the Open Space Institute are raising money to build a trailhead and parking lot near the train station, on land that is currently owned by the Lake Placid-North Elba Historical Society.

For information and updates on the Adirondack Rail Trail, visit online at www.dec.ny.gov/lands/124911.html.