Transportation Planning

Route 112 Scenic Byway

project pic

Scenic Route 112 as it winds through the town of Colrain.

Project Overview

The Route 112 Scenic Byway travels from the Vermont State Line south through the towns of Colrain, Shelburne, Buckland and Ashfield in Franklin County and the towns of Goshen, Cummington, Worthington and Huntington in Hampshire County.  It travels through historic town centers, working farms, scenic rivers, and majestic forests with beautiful mountains providing a backdrop.  The 53-mile-long Byway Corridor is rich in natural, cultural, and historic resources and is a particularly beautiful auto-touring route during the fall foliage season.  Officially designated in 2004, the Route 112 Scenic Byway is one of seven state-designated scenic byways in Western Massachusetts.  Route 112 intersects with the Mohawk Trail Scenic Byway, Route 116, and the Jacob’s Ladder Trail.  In order for a scenic byway to be eligible to receive funding from the National Scenic Byway Program, the road must be officially designated as a scenic byway and a Corridor Management Plan must be completed.  Work on developing a Corridor Management Plan for the Route 112 Scenic Byway commenced in 2006 and was completed in 2009.

Current Activities

The Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG) began work in 2006 to complete a Corridor Management Plan for the Route 112 Scenic Byway, in collaboration with the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC).  The study area includes a one-half-mile buffer strip along each side of the road within the towns of Colrain, Shelburne, Buckland, Ashfield, Goshen, Cummington, Worthington and Huntington.  The overall purpose of the project is to recognize, interpret, preserve, and promote the unique scenic, cultural, archeological, natural, and recreational resources in the Byway corridor.  In addition, the more specific purposes of this project are to:  identify the unique scenic, natural, recreational, historic, and cultural resources of the Route 112 Byway Corridor; develop recommendations and strategies to recognize and enhance these resources; identify opportunities to expand economic activities related to agricultural heritage and recreational tourism along the byway; and identify potential linkages to other scenic byways, hiking trails, state forests, river access points, and other cultural and recreational features along the Route 112 corridor. 

The project has included an active public participation process with two broadly representative Regional Advisory Committees holding regular public meetings in each county.  The two Committees have also met jointly to discuss their shared vision and goals for the project as well as other common interests in the development of their respective Regional Corridor Management Plans.  Each of the Regional Advisory Committees has held a public forum to present the Regional Corridor Management Plans to the residents of the Byway communities in their respective counties.  The Franklin County Public Forum was held at Ashfield Town Hall on June 29, 2009. 

Staff from FRCOG and PVPC have collaborated to develop a single, unified Corridor Management Plan for the entire Route 112 Scenic Byway by combining the Franklin and Hampshire Counties’ Regional Plans.  A final inter-regional Public Forum was held on September 23, 2009 to present the combined Route 112 Scenic Byway Corridor Management Plan to interested parties from all eight communities along the Byway in both Franklin and Hampshire counties. 

NEW! View the final Route 112 Scenic BywayCorridor Management Plan:   

For more information or to get copies of the maps included in the plan, please contact Pat Smith, FRCOG's Land Use Planner, at psmith@frcog.org or 413-774-1194 x111.

Future Plans

Now that the final version of the Route 112 Scenic Byway Corridor Management Plan has been released, the FRCOG and PVPC will work together with the Towns along Route 112 and with willing landowners to secure funding and other support for projects recommended in the Route 112 Scenic Byway Corridor Management Plan that are consistent with local priorities. 

Links

National Scenic Byway Program website (http://www.byways.org/)

This page was last updated on 03/24/2010 .

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