By Nate Jones
Staff Writer
What now appears to be a snowmobile and ATV trail in the middle of the Granite State Gas Transmission pipeline corridor south of Pine Point Road will be transformed into a new addition to the Eastern Trail by July.
Last week, the Eastern Trail Management District (ETMD) allocated funds granted to them by Maine Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) Transportation Enhancement program to be used for trail improvements, including the creation of a 1.6 mile section of the trail in Scarborough and Old Orchard Beach.
The money awarded by MDOT’s Transportation Enhancement came from a percentage of federally provided funds that would typically allow improvements such as rest areas or pedestrian pathways, said John Andrews, president of the Eastern Trail Alliance (ETA), adding the funds are not easily acquired.
 “These are funds that could not be used to build a highway,” he said.
The Eastern Trail is part of a much larger trail system, the 2,900 mile East Coast Greenway, which connects Calais to Key West, Fla. through an integrated system of railroad and power line corridors in addition to some roads and highways.
Cilley said ETMD the bidding process began in December for the improvement project, which has been anticipated since 2005. Officials announced last week they had awarded the contract to the lowest bidder, A.H. Grover, Inc. of Yarmouth, at $315,994.
 “I don’t have an actual contract yet, but we’re planning on doing work to 8,500 feet of the trail, including adding new gravel and additional drainage,” said Rob Pontau, project manager at A.H. Grover.
Pontau also said most of project cost will be spent during the time-consuming transportation of the material needed to create the 12-foot wide corridor, as access is severely limited.
The new section will connect the trail from Pine Point Road in Scarborough to Cascade Road in Old Orchard Beach, following the old Eastern Railroad corridor, Cilley said.
“The Eastern Trail is a tapestry of on and off road segments, with many portions on the old Eastern Railroad corridor,” he said. “We try to have a co-ownership with the gas companies that own the land; they’re underground, we’re on top.”
Andrews said the project is part of a large effort by the ETA and the ETMD to avoid integrating the trail with roadways.
“Route One is not a safe place to send bike riders,” he said.
Andrews said A.H. Grover will use a “stone-dust” product to construct the trail.
“It doesn’t sound like what you’d want to use,” he said. “But it was used when we constructed the bridge across the marsh in Scarborough and is actually made from breaking up granite.”
Pontau said the stone-dust, called “crusher dust” was once a waste product created by large quarries and is now available commercially.
 “They use it as a soil stabilizer in Iraq to create airfields,” Cilley said. “We’re one of the first to experiment with [crusher dust]; the [Department of Transportation] is very interested in seeing how it turns out.”
While Andrews said it is difficult to get exact number of people using the Eastern Trail, he believes many residents are discovering new uses for the trail. Snowshoeing and cross country skiing are becoming more popular, making the trails available for residents on a year round basis, he said.
The project is scheduled to begin in April and will be completed by July, ETA officials said.