In addition to regular maintenance, Norwich Trails periodically takes on longer term projects. Some current projects are highlighted below.
Lower Ballard Trail Bypass
Vermont weather for July, 2023 was characterized by frequent and heavy rain. Many places in the state were overwhelmed by a combination of flood conditions and soggy, unstable soils. In Norwich, that combination resulted in the loss of a 300-foot long section of the Ballard Trail – washed out from below by the raging Charles Brown Brook, and obliterated from above by the weakened, damp soil losing its grip on the steep hillside above the trail. Fortunately, no-one was present at the time, or serious injury could have resulted.
Restoring the damaged trail across this unstable area was not possible, due to soggy, slippery clay soils and loss of terrain due to erosion from the brook. Neither was relocating the trail around the damaged area by crossing the brook and back, due to the high bridging cost and unacceptable trail routing conditions on the other side of the brook.
While the weather did not cooperate for months after the incident, Norwich Trails volunteers Jim Faughnan and Bob Fiskin spent many hours investigating an alternate route around the slide. They reached the conclusion the trail could be rerouted with reasonable safety, with an 800-foot long stretch of new trail higher up on the slope above the river. The route crosses land owned by the Griggs family, who generously endorsed the change in trail location.
Unfortunately, frequent heavy rain continued through the Summer and well into the Fall of 2023. In spite of this, Jim and Bob committed to spending a half-day working on this bypass, every day for 2-3 weeks. They were joined by six additional volunteers as time became available. By the end of October a passable new trail had been constructed. For the full story see Benching the Ballard Trail Bypass..
Brown Schoolhouse Bridge Replacement
Suddenly oin July, 2018 the legacy bridge used by Norwich Trails to cross Charles Brown Brook collapsed, severing the Norwich trails system in half. The bridge site is near the Parcel 5 trailhead parking off Beaver Meadow Rd. With its loss a crucial connection was broken between the Parcel 5, Brookmead, Blue Ribbon and Gile Mountain trails on the east side of the Charles Brown Brook – and the Bill Ballard, Brown Schoolhouse, Burton Woods, Cossingham and Appalachian trails on the west side.
Over the subsequent 14 months, the Norwich Trails Committee led a community effort to fund and construct a replacement bridge. As town infrastructure, the new bridge was designed for longevity with low maintenance, to accommodate expected future flood events, to support emergency ATV access and be handicap-accessible, and allowing people, young or old, convenient access to Norwich’s “Grand Canyon” along the Bill Ballard Trail.
On March 3, 2020, Norwich voters passed Article 5 in the town warrant that authorized funding for a replacement bridge. See Brown Schoolhouse Road Bridge Replacement for a more complete story of the project.
Appalachian Trail Connections
Norwich Trails is worked in cooperation with the US Forest Service, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the Green Mountain Club, and the Upper Valley Mountain Biking Association towards the designation of authorized trails within Appalachian Trail Corridor in Norwich and in specifying connections with trails outside the corridor.
A formal application to authorize several older paths, plus a trail created since the corridor was formally established, was offered to the US Forest Service. The application concurred with agency goals to maintain the Appalachian Trail’s sense of wildness, by recommending closure of several other paths in the corridor (these also appear on the map fragment above). As of 2024, no final ruling was received.
A more detailed history of the authorization of side trails within the Appalachian Trail Corridor, is available on this page.
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Norwich Trails 