2008 – Representatives from Topsham, Bowdoinham, Richmond, and Gardner sign a memo of agreement supporting a regional trail system
2008 – Work plan is developed and trail corridor planning begins
2009 – First round of funding: received approx. $45,000 in funding from municipalities and state & regional grants
2009 – Granted planning and organizational assistance from NPS Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program
2010 – Development of website and Merrymeeting Trail logo
2011 – Completion of a feasibility and planning study
2013 – Capital to Coast exploratory bike ride held from Bath to Gardiner, traveling along on-road interim Merrymeeting Trail route
2014 – Capital to Coast trail, of which Merrymeeting Trail is a central piece, is declared a “trail of statewide significance”
2014 – Maine DOT approves interim on-road route, trail brochure developed
2015 – Merrymeeting Trailblazers established — a supporting friends group of citizens, nonprofits, and town staff
2015 – On-road bike signs put up and another Capital to Coast bike ride is held
2016 – Board of Supervisors is created via interlocal agreement between four towns along the trail, bylaws written and adopted
2016 – Bowdoinham and Topsham expand stretches of roads and add trails, increasing accessibility and safety for bikers and pedestrians
2017 – 2nd annual Merrymeeting Bay Bike Tour is held during Bowdoinham’s Farm Day
2018 – Merrymeeting Trail convenes statewide trail gathering that becomes Maine Trails Coalition
2019 – LD 1141, a Resolve Directing the Maine Department of Transportation to Construct the Merrymeeting Trail, is introduced and discussed in the Legislature
2020 – MaineDOT allocates $25,000 in its Work Plan for a public advisory process on the Merrymeeting Trail
2021 – Several new laws advance the Merrymeeting Trail, including the adoption of a Rail Corridor Use Advisory Council process and a directive to MaineDOT to create a statewide Active Transportation Plan that considers repurposing unused rail corridors as trails.
2022 – Merrymeeting Trail Board of Supervisors and all four towns along the corridor formally request MaineDOT launch a Rail Corridor Use Advisory Council for the Lower Road; it first convenes in November.
2023 – The Lower Road advisory council meets monthly, gathers information and incorporates robust public comment, and ultimately issues a recommendation to the Commissioner of Transportation that the Lower Road be repurposed as a trail on an interim basis.
2024 – The Merrymeeting Trailblazers hold community conversations in Topsham, Bowdoinham, Richmond, and Gardiner, engaging many community members in their hopes and aspirations for the trail. Information collected will inform future planning efforts.
2025 – The Maine Department of Transportation introduces LD 29, Resolve, to Require the Department of Transportation to Implement the Recommendations of the Lower Road Rail Use Advisory Council. We will do everything we can to help it become law!
