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The NH Department of Transportation has removed the railroad overpass over Route 63 that connects the Fort Hill Branch to Dole Junction, presumably to improve highway safety. Unfortunately, the agency did not make any provision for the Rail-trail in regrading the embankments afterward. Thus, the potential trail is obviously broken at the Route 63 overpass. Note however that a report has been received that the NH Department of Parks and Recreation has purchased a field near Dole Junction to provide the land required for a trail bypass of the missing bridge.
A spot-check performed on July 6, 1998 suggests that the Fort Hill Branch just north of Dole Junction (the roadbed that is west of Route 63) does not have any official signs, and is totally choked with brush and weeds. No spot checks were performed between Dole Junction and Fort Hill because of an inability to locate any public access point in between those points. Thus it is presumed that this portion of the Fort Hill Branch is totally unused and possibly blocked at one or more intermediate points.
Conversely, the spot-check shows that the Fort Hill Branch south of Dole Junction to the edge of the missing highway overpass of Route 63 near Dolittle shows signs of light trail usage, despite the lack of official trail signs.
Missing overpass at Dole Jct. Digital photograph by Kenyon F. Karl on July 6, 1998.
Field just north of Dole Jct. Digital photograph by Kenyon F. Karl on July 6, 1998.
Sign images are from the Manual of Traffic Signs by Richard C. Moeur.
Updated on February 26, 2001 by Kenyon F. Karl <[email protected]>.
