Unofficially, rail trail is already a hit

Solitude, though, is hard to find, as the trail already seems to be the town’s most popular new attraction, busy with walkers, joggers, rollerbladers, runners, bikers, dogs, and baby strollers.

The project, which will have its grand opening this Sunday, is formally known as the Clipper City Rail Trail and Harborwalk/Battis Grove Park, although most people just call it the rail trail. The 1.1-mile paved trail runs north and south along the old railroad corridor owned by the MBTA but unused since 1980. The city has a 99-year lease.

“The idea of making connections has been a primary objective for the trail,’’ says Geordie Vining, senior project manager for the Newburyport Office of Planning & Development, as we walked the trail on a recent afternoon.

The trail links the riverwalk along the Merrimack with the commuter rail station, where the active rail line ends. It also connects the town’s industrial past with more recent interests, like green power and offbeat sculpture.

Only the Battis Grove stretch of the trail was previously maintained, by neighborhood volunteers. Elsewhere, the old path along rusty tracks was used by a few commuters who didn’t mind ticks and trash and mud, and by teenagers and the homeless. Now the trail offers a short, pretty, easy stroll to the train or the riverwalk.

The trail is naturally divided into a series of “rooms,’’ each with its own atmosphere.

By the river, the huge granite abutment for the old rail bridge has been razed to create a plaza and overlook, where you can see from the mouth of the Merrimack River to the hills of Amesbury. Here, too, is the connection under Route 1 to Michael’s Harborside, the boardwalk, and downtown.

The basic design was by Stantec, and the chief contractor is S&R Construction Enterprises. The design phase was funded primarily from state highway and recreation funds, plus Community Preservation Act funds and donations from local businesses and foundations. Most of the $3 million-plus construction cost came from the federal and state governments as part of the Regional Transportation Improvement Plan. Parks Coordinator Lise Reid will manage the trail, including ongoing maintenance. The plan is to augment city resources with public-private partnerships.

Heading south, you cross the retrofitted bridge over Merrimac Street and reach the tree-lined corridor of Battis Grove, walking past neighbors’ backyards. Across Washington Street, you head into the even deeper shade of the High Street underpass. A metal sculpture of native fish swims on a high stone wall.

Adjacent to a wide junction where a spur trail enters from High Street is the Route 1 office of environmental cleanup firm Enpro Services Inc. “They’ve been very helpful in terms of maintenance and so forth,’’ Vining said.

I noted that Enpro’s parked equipment and heavy machinery do not provide the most scenic view on the trail, even with the privacy fence. Vining replied that this was the site of the old roundhouse for turning around steam locomotives — in other words, it has long been an industrial spot.

“One thing people have said about the trail, in an appreciative way, is that not every part of the trail is beautiful. But not every part of the trail is supposed to be beautiful. What it does do is give people an alternative perspective on Newburyport,’’ Vining said.

Nodding to the history, nearby is a miniature locomotive for kids to play on, complete with a working bell.

In addition to the fish and the train, there are half a dozen large sculptures along the trail or coming soon. Vining and Jay Havighurst, who curates the Somersby’s Landing Sculpture Park on the downtown waterfront, chose the works.

Over Low Street, a new custom-built span replaces a famously low-browed rail bridge demolished years ago. The new bridge has a graceful arch and is made of Cor-Ten steel, which rusts attractively. Its deck is Purpleheart, the same tropical wood as the Merrimac Street bridge and the riverwalk.

Below Low Street, the trail follows a long, gradual curve between Route 1 and the industrial park. I was bothered by the wide corridor the builders cut through the scrub here, home to native plants and small wildlife. Vining explained that good sight lines will make users feel safer in this relatively secluded area. Instead of the grass planted elsewhere, the swath of dirt along the east side of the trail will be planted with a “meadow mix’’ that will grow knee- to waist-high and bring back that natural feel.

I still wonder how much Vining paid the groundhog to run across the trail ahead of us a moment later.

Here you also get a primo view of Mark Richey Woodworking’s nearly 300-foot-tall wind turbine towering over an adjacent field. Residents across Route 1 complain of noise and “flicker’’ from the turbine. While the dancing shadows it occasionally creates can be distracting, I’ve never heard more than a faint “whoosh’’ from the huge, spinning blades. The traffic on Route 1 is much louder.

“There have been occasions where scores and scores of school kids have come walking down the rail trail so they can access the turbine and learn about wind technology,’’ Vining said. “That’s another great example of how the rail trail can function.’’

Travelers will have to cross busy Parker Street to reach the T station; that crossing is still being fine-tuned. Long-term plans call for a similar trail to connect the station to the other end of the planned riverwalk, in the South End, via another unused rail line, although that is years away.

Already paved, however, is a short trail spur to Haley’s Ice Cream on Route 1, the venerable cone-and-burger joint. Is it kosher for a publicly funded project to help a single business, even a delicious one?

“I think that you’ll find that rail trails and ice cream go together,’’ Vining said. “If any other ice cream shops open up along the corridor, I’ll be more than happy to build a trail to them.’’