Rail Trail Panel Flags Construction Errors, $104,000 Grant Deadline Looms

WESTON — June 17, 2019 — Weston's Rail Trail Advisory Committee flagged a property-line encroachment, an unresolved underpass waterproofing failure, and a two-week window to spend $104,000 in grant funds before a June 30 fiscal deadline. At the June 17 meeting, members reported that contractor J.H. Lynch cut three inches past a private property line during trailhead ramp work, a mistake attributed to errors in plans prepared by Nitsch Engineering and a field crew following a stone wall rather than plan markings. More critically, the manufacturer of the waterproofing membrane specified for the prefabricated Conant Road underpass declined to certify its use at the site, leaving no approved solution in place against future leaks. With excavation at Church Street not yet begun and key purchases — including $16,000 in crosswalk flashers and more than $10,000 in Eversource gates — not arriving in time, committee members said the full $104,000 drawdown, including the town's $57,000 match already paid to DCR, is in jeopardy. The committee also approved drafting a formal letter to Eversource and Lewis Tree Company about herbicide risks to planned trail vegetation, and two members agreed to co-write a trail etiquette piece for the Town Crier and local social media after residents posted complaints about unleashed dogs.