Progress on a multimillion-dollar Connecticut bike trail is in jeopardy after the U.S. Department of Transportation pulled a grant it had awarded for the project.
Earlier this month, the Trump administration cancelled funding for at least six biking and walking trails across the country, including a $5.7 million grant slated for Connecticut’s Naugatuck River Greenway Trail, or the NRG Trail.
In a letter dated Sept. 9, Maria Lefevre, executive director for the office of the under secretary of transportation, said the administration is prioritizing “projects that promote vehicular travel.” The U.S. Transportation Department rereviewed the grant individually, the letter stated, and withdrew funding because the project “no longer aligns with DOT priorities.”
The letter was addressed to Rick Dunne, executive director of Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments, or NVCOG. Reached for comment Monday, Dunne stressed that the NRG Trail would not be built over any motorized routes, and that it would be used for transportation in addition to recreation.
“We were looking forward to being able to work with the administration on it… but they defined their goals for multi-modalism as funding vehicular access,” Dunne said.
Officials with the U.S. Transportation Department did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
The grant was funded through former President Joe Biden’s $1 trillion infrastructure bill and the NRG Trail was selected for funding in June 2024.
The NRG Trail would connect 11 towns in the Naugatuck River Valley. The planned route snakes along the river for 44 miles, bridging towns from Litchfield to Waterbury to Derby.
The trail has been in the works for almost three decades, and the pulled federal grant would have helped close the remaining gaps. It would have funded segments of the trail totaling roughly 16.5 miles.
Progress on those parts of the trail — in Thomaston, Watertown, Waterbury and Naugatuck — will halt until NVCOG can secure alternate funding.
Naugatuck has agreed to fund its section of the trail, according to Dunne. NVCOG intends to find replacement funding to complete the full project.
Since taking office, President Donald J. Trump has made efforts to revoke many grants across government departments. It’s an unusual strategy, particularly with respect to already funded projects, such as walking and biking trails.
Dunne said that colleagues in similar positions in other states have contacted him to join a lawsuit against the federal government over the canceled grants. Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller stated his intention to sue earlier this month.
Those affected by the lost funding include consultants involved in designing the trail and the communities the route passes through, who may lose out on economic opportunities, said Bruce Donald, Southern New England manager for East Coast Greenway Alliance, a group developing a trail network from Maine to Florida.
“This is fairly new territory,” Donald said. “Usually when money is awarded, you get it and you use it.”
Scott Goldstein, senior director of government relations at Rails to Trails Conservancy, a nonprofit that supports trail network development, said it’s difficult to keep track of the grants that have been revoked because the Trump administration is sending letters directly to communities, rather than making public announcements.
“These cancellations are happening in the shadows,” he said.