By KATHARINE WEBSTER, InDepthNH.org

Advocates for the Derry Rail Trail will get a bicycling and pedestrian tunnel, as originally planned, under a six-lane access road being built to serve the new Exit 4A off Interstate 93 in North Derry, according to a settlement announced Tuesday.

The Committee to Save the Derry Rail Trail Tunnel and the national Rails to Trails Conservancy sued the state Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Federal Highway Administration in 2024 over their decision to drop the tunnel plan in favor of a steep climb to a crosswalk over Folsom Road and a twisted “spaghetti loop” outside the Manchester & Lawrence Railroad Historic District.

Last June, U.S. District Judge Paul Barbadoro issued an injunction to prevent any construction work that would damage the historic district and foreclose building a tunnel. On subsequent court dates, he urged the state and federal governments to settle so that construction on the new exit could proceed.

“We’re very glad to see this get over the finish line here, after four-and-a-half years,” said Dave Topham, president of the New Hampshire Rail Trails Coalition. Topham also served for decades on the Complete Streets Advisory Committee, which advises the DOT on incorporating walking, bicycling and public transit options into transportation planning.

He said the settlement agreement was signed on Monday.

DOT Commissioner Bill Cass said: “We are pleased this matter has been fully resolved. Reaching this agreement helps minimize delays and allows us to move forward with construction. We are eager to proceed with building the tunnel and completing the project, which is expected to remain on schedule.”

After public input and careful planning, the state and federal government approved the tunnel plan in 2019. But in 2021, the state unilaterally threw out the tunnel and submitted new proposals to the Federal Highway Administration, which approved them within one business day, Topham said.

“The skids were greased,” he said.

After years of trying to get the state to reconsider, rail trail advocates finally sued to protect the historic rail corridor and create a safe walking and biking path, he said.

In Barbadoro’s injunction last June, he ruled that the crosswalk and “spaghetti loop” alternatives violated a federal law that forbids using federal funds for transportation projects that will harm parks and historic sites, unless there are no safe or reasonable alternatives.

In this case, the rail trail organizations argued, there was a safe and reasonable alternative that would do the least harm to the historic rail corridor: the original plan for a tunnel.

The state DOT and Federal Highway Administration had argued in court that the alternatives would save $400,000 in taxpayer money.

“This lawsuit could have been prevented entirely had the New Hampshire DOT and (the Federal Highway Administration) stuck to the original design that included the tunnel,” said Alex Bernhard, a member of the committee to save the tunnel. “Instead, they made a back-room deal that cost time and money.”

Rails to Trails Conservancy President Ryan Chao said that Barbardoro’s ruling affirmed the importance of protecting trails and historic rail corridors for public use – the first time a federal judge has ruled on the issue in regard to rail trails.

“It represents an important victory for rail trails across the country,” Chao said in a statement.

Once the Exit 4A-related construction and underpass are complete in spring 2028, Derry and Londonderry plan to complete and connect their rail trails along the historic right-of-way, which stretches from the
Massachusetts border with Salem to Manchester. The rail trail can then connect to others that cross the state.

Kevin Gordon, president of the Derry Rail Trail Alliance, said the tunnel is the best and safest option for everyone from families with strollers and kids on tricycles to competitive runners and serious cyclists. He also said the settlement moves forward a plan to create a statewide network of rail trails.

“We’re one step closer to getting another leg of the Granite State Rail Trail completed,” he said.

Also Tuesday, Topham said, a House committee killed House Bill 1703, which would have levied a $50 annual registration fee on bicycles and ebikes to fund transportation projects.