North County Trailway in the area of Birdsall Road has Reopened

A section of the North County Trailway at Birdsall Road in Yorktown that sustained damage during Superstorm Sandy in 2012 has reopened as part of a capital project to repair and resurface the North County Trailway, a 22.1-mile long rail trail stretching from Eastview in the Town of Mount Pleasant north to Putnam County.

The repair project at Birdsall Road was a result of failure of the embankment that supports the trail. Initial trail repair site inspection revealed that the existing drain pipes beneath the surface of the trail bed were broken in an area near the center of a 200 linear-foot, 80-foot wide, 60’ high embankment. Trees along the embankment were uprooted and fell during the storm, causing erosion which led to the failure of the embankment and clogging and breakage of the drain pipes. The design was broadened from its original scope, the infrastructure repairs were made and the slope next to the trail was stabilized. The trail has been resurfaced, new fencing and railings are in place and landscape plantings have been installed to screen and further stabilize the slope.

The $800,000 repair will be reimbursed by FEMA. Design and plans for the project were furnished by the county’s Department of Public Works, and the New York City Department of Environmental Protection was involved in the permitting process due to the project’s proximity to a watershed.

The North County Trailway was constructed along the Putnam Division rail bed of the former New York Central Railroad.

For information go to parks.westchestergov.com.