On October 1, the state awarded South Windsor $200,000 to plan and design the third phase of the Crosstown Trail. The money comes from a statewide round of about $10.5 million spread across 50 trail projects through the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, as the governor's office announced. Patch covered the award on October 13 and noted that the grant pays for planning and design only. It comes with no construction schedule, no opening date and no published route for Phase 3.
None of the first phase has been built yet. Phase 1A, a short paved stretch from Wapping Park to Priest Farm, won its site plan approval in January 2025. Since then the delay has come from two sources: approvals from the parties whose land the route crosses, and bridge costs that came in higher than the town expected. Neither problem has been a lack of interest or of grants. So the trail is moving at the speed of its easements, and design money for later phases is arriving faster than the signatures the first phase needs.
Four Pieces of One Trail, Each at a Different Stage
When finished, the Crosstown Trail is meant to run about 6.2 miles from south to north. It would connect to Manchester's Charter Oak Greenway at the southern end, head toward East Windsor in the north, and pass through Wapping Park, South Windsor Land Conservation Trust land, Nevers Park and the South Windsor Wildlife Sanctuary. The plan calls for off-road access for walkers, cyclists and wheelchair users. Here is where each piece stands in the town's records:
| Phase | What it covers | Latest status on record |
|---|---|---|
| 1A | Wapping Park northeast to Priest Farm on Sullivan Avenue, about 5,500 feet | Site plan approved January 28, 2025. "Bid process" and "Funding" were still listed as business items on the September 16, 2026 agenda |
| 1B | Includes the pedestrian crossing of Sullivan Avenue at the existing traffic signal | Plum Ridge board said in November 2025 that it wasn't interested in further discussion |
| 2 | Not detailed in town records | Design described in March 2025 as something that "should be completed soon" |
| 3 | No route published | $200,000 state grant for planning and design, announced October 1, 2026 |
Phases 1A and 1B are both waiting on parties outside town government. For 1A, that means a utility and conservation land. For 1B, it's a private community's property. Phase 3, which hasn't reached that stage yet, is the one that just got funded.
The First 5,500 Feet Follow a Utility Corridor
Phase 1A starts at Wapping Park, where the town's plans label the parking area as existing, and runs northeast about 5,500 linear feet to Priest Farm on Sullivan Avenue, which is Route 194. A new crushed-stone parking area with accessible spaces would go in at the Priest Farm end. The path is designed to be paved and accessible, generally 10 feet wide, with a boardwalk of roughly 60 feet. Where it uses an existing Eversource access drive, the plan details show it widening to 12 feet.
Using the Eversource right-of-way is what lets the route cross town without cutting through backyards. It also means the utility has to sign off. At the Walk & Wheel Ways subcommittee's November 19, 2025 meeting, the Parks and Recreation director reported that Eversource had denied the license agreement over a bridge planned on the easement. The town resubmitted the paperwork without the bridge. By the March 18, 2026 meeting, revised contract language had gone back to Eversource, and the minutes say "now we must wait for them to execute the contract." The director was also applying for grants to finish the Phase 1A plans.
In July, the subcommittee's July 15, 2026 minutes named a second signature the project still needed:
The cross-town trail still needs a signature from the South Windsor Conservation for the area of conservation land that abuts the cross-town trail. Once that has been taken care of, Phase 1A of the trail is on track to go out to bid in early fall 2026.
The same minutes say the trail will cost more than first estimated, "especially the bridge structures," and that the search for more grant money will begin once Phase 1A has gone to bid. Until the signatures are in and a bid sets a firm price, the town can't say how big the funding gap is.
How a Summer 2025 Finish Became an Open Question
The trail's timeline is easiest to follow in order:
- October 2023. The State Bond Commission approved $1.2 million for Phase 1A, as Patch reported at the time.
- Late 2023. A town manager's report expected Phase 1 construction to start in summer 2024 and finish by summer 2025.
- January 28, 2025. The Planning and Zoning Commission approved the Phase 1A site plan.
- November 2025. Eversource turned down the license because of the bridge, and the town resubmitted without it.
- March 2026. The revised contract was waiting for Eversource's signature.
- July 2026. A conservation land signature was still needed, and the target was a bid in "early fall 2026."
- September 16, 2026. Phase 1A, its bid process and its funding were on the subcommittee agenda again.
- October 1, 2026. The state awarded $200,000 to design Phase 3.
The summer 2025 finish date from the original forecast has come and gone. No later document replaces it with a new construction start, so anyone giving you a date for Phase 1A today is guessing.
The Sullivan Avenue Crossing Sits in Phase 1B
Phase 1A ends at Priest Farm, on the near side of Sullivan Avenue. The site plan puts the pedestrian crossing at the existing traffic signal in Phase 1B, so the first segment won't cross Route 194 at all.
Phase 1B has its own route question. An earlier proposed alignment crossed private community property near Sandstone Road, and Patch reported that the committee's 2024 discussions covered screening, signage and gates to keep motor vehicles off the trail. In September 2024, the subcommittee noted the route might need to change if Plum Ridge didn't support a path through its property. In November 2025, the Plum Ridge board said it wasn't interested in moving forward with further discussion of the trail. The March 2026 minutes describe plans for a public forum on Phase 1B at the May 20 meeting. It was open to all residents, with notices sent to Plum Ridge and the surrounding neighborhoods. No final Phase 1B route has been published since.
Property owners deciding what crosses their land is a normal part of any trail project. For this one, it means the link between Phase 1A and everything north of Sullivan Avenue depends on a route that hasn't been settled.
Why Phase 3 Design Money Still Counts
Read against that history, the October grant does something specific. State Sen. Saud Anwar welcomed it in an October 2 statement covering trail funding for East Hartford, East Windsor and South Windsor. Planning and design is the stage where a route gets drawn and potential landowner conflicts first show up. Phase 1A spent most of 2025 and 2026 on those questions after its design was approved. Paying for Phase 3 design now means the next round of easement talks can start years before anyone is asking for construction money.
State dollars have come through before. The $1.2 million for Phase 1A was approved in 2023, and the delays since then have involved a utility contract, a conservation signature, a private board and bridge prices.
Walking the Route Before It's Paved
The town parks that will eventually line up along the Crosstown Trail already host walks run by the same volunteers who are pushing the trail forward. The Walk & Wheel Ways events page lists two this season:
- Full Moon Walk, Tuesday, November 24. Meet at 6:30 p.m. at the Nevers Park Rotary Pavilion, 55 Chief Ryan Way, for a 1.5-mile walk through Nevers Park that starts at 6:45 p.m. All ages are welcome, and the organizers ask walkers to bring a flashlight. If there's snow, snowshoes and cross-country skis are welcome too.
- Trails to Taps hike, Saturday, December 12, at 2 p.m. A guided hike at Wapping Park, where Phase 1A will begin, followed by a stop at CT Valley Brewing.
The subcommittee's July 2026 minutes describe an earlier moonwalk that drew about 50 people. Trail updates are a regular agenda item at the subcommittee's meetings, which the group moved in late 2025 to the third Wednesday of every other month at 6:30 p.m. at the Parks and Recreation building, 350 Foster Street. On that schedule, the next meeting falls on November 18. That's the first meeting since the Phase 3 grant was announced, and it should give the next public update on whether Phase 1A has gone to bid.
If you live near Wapping Park, Priest Farm or Sullivan Avenue and want to know how a future trail could affect daily life on your street, or what it might mean for your home's value, Brian Burke CT follows these South Windsor projects closely and can walk you through what's in the record. You can also browse our South Windsor neighborhood page or reach out to talk about your move.
