KINGSTON – Ulster County Executive Patrick Ryan’s proposed 2022 county budget includes over $32 million for trails and infrastructure.
The spending plan includes $18.2 million to maintain and improve county roads and bridges, and $3.9 million to help spur and accelerate much-needed municipal water and sewer projects.
Major bridge projects include the McKinstry Bridge in Gardiner, the Lyonsville Bridge in Shandaken, and others.
“This expansion of the Ulster County trail system has to be one of, if not the most, ambitious in the Hudson Valley,” said County Legislator Jim DeLaune. “This initiative will provide opportunities to connect existing trails with commercial and retail centers, as well as our natural landscape.”
Ryan’s budget proposes to build on the growing trails infrastructure across the county, dedicating $1.9 million to substantially improve two of the major recreational rail trails in the county and complete ongoing work that has spanned over a decade.
Major improvements will be made to the 27-mile-long O&W Rail Trail. Which runs from Kingston south to the Village of Ellenville, and to the 22-mile-long Wallkill Valley Rail Trail, which runs from Kingston to the southern border of the Town of Gardiner.
An additional $200,000 will be made available to municipalities to expand other recreational facilities for residents.
