Fort Kent Heritage Trail to add leg along Fish River

FORT KENT – Walkers and bicycle riders will have yet another trail to enjoy, this one along the banks of the Fish River from the Heritage Trail to Crocker Beach at the rear of the University of Maine at Fort Kent campus.

Approval for the construction was given Wednesday night by the SAD 27 school board. The side trail, three-quarters of a mile long, also crosses the campus of Community High School at Fort Kent.

The Heritage Trail is a multipurpose, 18-mile-long trail that runs from Market Street in Fort Kent to St. Francis. The trail is built on a former rail bed of the Bangor and Aroostook Railroad.

“We had several issues with the setting of the trail, but the issues have been resolved,” Superintendent Sandra Bernstein told the school board Wednesday night. “They are willing to respond to our concerns, so I recommend giving the approval for the construction.”

A committee of school board members and municipal officials negotiated the concerns over a matter of several weeks.

The school district’s concerns involved safety around the school’s baseball and soccer field, liability in possible injuries along the trail, signage, the possibility of litter problems and disruption during construction.

The town has agreed to shield the district from any liability that may arise. Officials also have agreed to erect appropriate signs and install litter receptacles, and construction will be done while school is not in session this summer or during the fall potato harvest recess.

Fort Kent Town Manager Don Guimond said the side trail, one of three proposed off the Heritage Trail, will go from the main trail along the swimming pool area, through the high school lot, around the National Guard Armory and through the UMFK campus to Crocker Beach along the west shore of the Fish River.

“Unlike the main Heritage Trail, this section will be limited to bicycle riders and pedestrians only,” Guimond said Thursday. “There will no motorized vehicles along this trail.

“We are hoping to do construction during the summer school recess,” he said. “If it is not completed, we will finish it during the harvest recess.”

The trail will be done like the main trail, with a wide surface of crushed stone.

The money for the project is part of the $1.25 million grant the town received for the entire Heritage Trail. The project also will include trails to Jalbert Park in Fort Kent and the Gilman Hartt boat landing in St. Francis.

The trail includes a former railroad trestle near the high school. The trail also is used by all-terrain vehicles in the summer and snowmobiles in the winter.