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Media Release

CONTACT: Christopher Curtis, PVPC Chiefl Planner (413) 781-6045
Cindi Ptak, National Scenic Byway Program Manager (202) 366-1586

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 19, 2009

Connecticut River Byway Named First National Scenic Byway in Massachusetts

The Connecticut River Byway has been designated the first National Scenic Byway in Massachusetts. U. S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced 42 new designations to the America’s Byways® collection, including five All-American Roads and 37 National Scenic Byways in 26 states. This increases the number of America’s Byways® to 151.

“By enriching the National Scenic Byways program with their own unique historical or aesthetic quality, these new additions help our national road system tell our country’s story,” said Secretary LaHood. “These routes continue to offer Americans exciting new opportunities to explore the nation—whether they travel close to home or across the country.”

Christopher Curtis, Chief Planner for the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, who prepared the application for the national designation, traveled to Washington, DC this week to accept the designation award from Victor Mendez, Administrator for the Federal Highway Administration, at a ceremony honoring all new National Scenic Byway designees. The application was also formally supported by the Franklin Regional Council of Governments and the Boards of Selectmen in Erving, Hadley, Montague, Northfield, South Hadley, and Sunderland.

Mr. Curtis said, “This national designation is very exciting news for western Massachusetts, and will help this Byway access additional federal funding for land preservation and other projects to enhance the Byway.” Curtis noted that the Byway has already been awarded $1,160,559 in federal scenic byway grants, which are currently pending contracts with the Massachusetts Highway Department.

The Connecticut River Byway travels 39 miles along Routes 47 and 63 through the scenic Connecticut River Valley of western Massachusetts in the communities of Northfield, Erving, Montague, Sunderland, Hadley, and South Hadley. It is a journey through early American history and links a series of historic villages that were settled in Colonial times, including
Hadley (settled 1659), Sunderland (1675), Northfield (1671), and South Hadley (1675), among others. There are over 1,200 nationally significant historic properties along the route for travelers to experience. In addition, there are outstanding individual historic sites to visit, including the Summit House on Mount Holyoke which is a popular mountain-top hotel in the 1800’s that is now part of Skinner State Park, the Hadley Farm Museum located in a 1782 barn, the renowned Historic Deerfield open-air history museum, and the Porter Phelps Huntington House Museum which contains the possessions and history of eight generations of one family.

Historic villages and working landscapes combine with natural riverine beauty to create a journey though Colonial history along the Connecticut River Byway. The Connecticut River Byway traverses a beautiful pastoral landscape of riverside farmlands, historic village centers founded in the late 1600s, working landscapes laid out during Colonial times, tobacco barns, and vistas of the Connecticut River and the Mount Holyoke Range. These landscapes are unique in their combination of early American history and pristine natural beauty. They are also representative of landscapes that are rapidly vanishing from New England due to urban sprawl. Along its entire length, the Byway parallels the Connecticut River, New England’s longest river and one of only 13 designated American Heritage Rivers in the United States.

With Massachusetts and New Jersey included in the 2009 designations, 46 states have America’s Byways® in them. Created in 1991, the National Scenic Byways program is a collaborative effort to help recognize, preserve and enhance selected roads throughout the United States. It has funded 2,672 projects for state and nationally designated byway routes in 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. The U.S. Department of Transportation recognizes certain roads as All-American Roads or National Scenic Byways based on one or more archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational and scenic qualities.

The following are the 2009 All-American Road (AAR) and National Scenic Byways (NSB) designations:

Byway	State	Designation
Alabama’s Coastal Connection	Alabama	NSB
The George Parks Highway Scenic Byway	Alaska	NSB
Haines Highway - Valley of the Eagles	Alaska	NSB
Historic Route 66 - Arizona	Arizona	AAR
Top of the Rockies	Colorado	NSB
Lariat Loop Scenic and Historic Byway	Colorado	NSB
Florida Black Bear Scenic Byway	Florida	NSB
Florida Keys Scenic Highway	Florida	AAR
Big Bend Scenic Byway	Florida	NSB
Ormond Scenic Loop & Trail	Florida	NSB
Indiana’s Historic Pathways	Indiana	NSB
Lincoln Heritage Scenic Highway	Kentucky	NSB
Woodlands Trace	Kentucky	NSB
Kentucky Great River Road	Kentucky	NSB
Louisiana Great River Road	Louisiana	NSB
Acadia All American Road - Trenton Extension	Maine	AAR
Journey Through Hallowed Ground Byway	Maryland	NSB
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway	Maryland	AAR
Baltimore’s Historic Charles Street	Maryland	NSB
Religious Freedom Byway	Maryland	NSB
Connecticut River Byway	Massachusetts	NSB
Woodward Avenue (M-1) - Automotive Heritage Trail	Michigan	AAR
Gunflint Trail Scenic Byway	Minnesota	NSB
Mississippi Great River Road	Mississippi	NSB
City of Las Vegas, Las Vegas Boulevard State Scenic Byway	Nevada	NSB
Millstone Valley Scenic Byway	New Jersey	NSB
Delaware River Scenic Byway	New Jersey	NSB
Dry Cimarron Scenic Byway	New Mexico	NSB
Forest Heritage National Scenic Byway	North Carolina	NSB
Outer Banks Scenic Byway	North Carolina	NSB
Historic Route 66	Oklahoma	NSB
Dry Cimarron Scenic Byway	Oklahoma	NSB
Cherokee Hills Byway	Oklahoma	NSB
Wichita Mountains Byway	Oklahoma	NSB
Journey Through Hallowed Ground Byway	Pennsylvania	NSB
Edisto Island National Scenic Byway	South Carolina	NSB
East Tennessee Crossing	Tennessee	NSB
Great River Road - Tennessee	Tennessee	NSB
Scenic Byway 143 - Utah’s Patchwork Parkway	Utah	NSB
Journey Through Hallowed Ground Byway	Virginia	NSB
White Pass Scenic Byway	Washington	NSB
Coal Heritage Trail	West Virginia	NSB

Additional information about the America’s Byways® collection can be found online at http://www.byways.org. For more information, contact Christopher Curtis, Chief Planner, Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, at (413) 781-6045 or Cindi Ptak, Program Manager, National Scenic Byways Program, at (202) 366-1586

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Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, 60 Congress Street – Floor 1, Springfield, MA 01104-3419, (413) 781-6045, Fax (413) 732-2593, www.pvpc.org