Windham to Westbrook Rail Trail moves forward

By Ed Pierce

The Maine Department of Transportation’s has received $450,000 in grant funding to finish engineering studies for a proposed five-mile trail along an abandoned railroad track bed in the area. 

The proposal calls to expand the rail trail east for five miles through downtown Westbrook to Windham. The trail would begin on Bridge Street in Westbrook and continue to an existing trail near Chute Road in Windham that leads to Sebago Lake.

According to the Presumpscot Regional Land Trust, Maine DOT has already invested significant funding for the past two decades to create the Mountain Division rail corridor in several locations.

One of those was extending five miles of an unused rail trail from the Standish/Gorham border through Gorham into Windham in 2003. That section of trail runs from Gambo Road in Windham to Johnson Field in Standish and initially had a gravel surface. A one-mile trail section from Gambo Road to Route 202 was completed in 2005.

Further meetings were held in 2013 between officials from Windham, Westbrook, the Sebago To The Sea Trail and the Mountain Division Alliance to discuss ways to raise matching funds for construction of a Windham to Westbrook section.

The Mountain Division Trail follows the former Portland and Ogdensburg Railway.

When Maine Central Railroad originally acquired the line, the name was changed to the Mountain Division Rail Line and it was originally built to connect the port of Portland with the St. Lawrence Seaway in Ogdensburg, New York with a spur connecting to Montreal. By the time construction was finished, there was more competition, and it became difficult for the railroad to be profitable. Passenger service was suspended in 1958 with freight service halted in 1983. In 1994, all rail service on the former Mountain Division Rail Line in Maine was abandoned.

Another Mountain Division Trail was created in 2012 and runs four miles from the New Hampshire border east to Fryeburg.

“We are so glad to share the great news that the future five-mile trail next to the rail on the Mountain Division Trail/Sebago to the Sea Trail; between Windham and Westbrook is moving forward,” said Rachelle Curran Apse, Presumpscot River Land Trust executive director, in an e-mail. “DOT just received grant funding to finish the feasibility study and engineering toward making this project shovel-ready.”

She said progress on making the proposed rail trail a reality has been possible thanks to the leadership shown by the City of Westbrook and the Town of Windham, along with partners that include the Mountain Division Alliance; Maine Trails Coalition; Bicycle Coalition of Maine; Windham Parks and Recreation; Portland Trails; and the Westbrook Recreation and Conservation Commission.

Once completed, Curran Apse said that the rail-trail would be welcoming, safe, and accessible for all ages to enjoy for walking, running, and biking.

A public hearing was conducted by the state last May regarding a feasibility study to replace the existing rail tracks with a paved, multi-use trail. Federal law mandates that if the railroad tracks are removed, the corridor needs to be railbed which means that it is available to be converted back for railroad use if needed at any point in the future.

The first mile-and-a-half of the proposed trail leading south from South Windham is a flat walking path along an undeveloped rail bed. The remaining 3.5 miles ending on Bridge Street near the Westbrook Community Center is more rugged and contains railroad tracks which would need to be removed.    

Completion of the proposed Westbrook to Windham Rail Trail remains about a decade away once final funding for the project is awarded by Maine DOT. <