Old Lyme — More than one-third of the approximately 3,000 comments on a draft plan for future rail investments along the Northeast Corridor came from the community of Old Lyme, said First Selectwoman Bonnie Reemsnyder.

"I think that we made quite an impression, for a small community," Reemnsyder recently said.

One of the four options in the NEC FUTURE Tier 1 Draft Environmental Impact Statement, called Alternative 1, has provoked strong opposition in Old Lyme, as it proposes a new rail segment from Old Saybrook to Kenyon, R.I., that would cut through Old Lyme.

Reemsnyder told local officials and leaders of organizations in the community last week that representatives from the NEC FUTURE team recently said that if the Old Saybrook-Kenyon segment is chosen as part of the recommended plan, then it would be built as an underground tunnel in Old Lyme.

The bored tunnel, likely stretching from the Old Saybrook train station to the Whippoorwill Road abutment on the north side of Interstate 95 in Old Lyme, would be an alternative to a new bridge over the Connecticut River from Old Saybrook to Old Lyme and an aerial structure over the western portion of Old Lyme, according to Reemsnyder.

Representatives from the Federal Railroad Administration, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and an engineering firm, met recently in Old Lyme with Reemsnyder; Samuel S. Gold, executive director of the Lower Connecticut River Valley Council of Governments; John Forbis of the town's Historic District Commission; and Bennett J. Bernblum of the Board of Finance.

Reemsnyder has sent a letter to the Federal Railroad Administration confirming her understanding of the March meeting and asking them to respond with any corrections.

The Federal Railroad Administration confirmed the meeting took place but did not comment on specific details.

"FRA's NEC FUTURE team met with Old Lyme's leadership earlier this month," Matthew Lehner, communications director for The Federal Railroad Administration, said in an emailed statement. "They had a productive meeting. These meetings, the public hearings and the public comment period that was more than twice as long as required are all part of the normal process for significant efforts like NEC Future. We expect that a preferred alternative will be chosen in the coming months."

According to NEC FUTURE's website, the FRA will issue a final Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement in the fall and then a Service Development Plan the following year.

A group of representatives from local arts, cultural, and community organizations had sent a joint letter in February in opposition to Alternative 1.

Reemsnyder said the Old Lyme leaders reiterated to the FRA the problems associated with an aerial structure, the potential impact on the Connecticut River Estuary, and concerns about properties on the National Register of Historic Places, residential neighborhoods, open spaces, and archaeological sites.

Reemsnyder said she is aware of two real estate transactions that did not take place because of the "line on the map" in the proposal.

Gold, the RiverCOG executive director, said Wednesday that the March meeting was "incredibly encouraging."

In a phone interview Thursday, Jeffrey Andersen, the director of the Florence Griswold Museum, called the meeting between the NEC FUTURE team and Old Lyme officials a "breakthrough." He said he was pleased that local officials are at the same table as the NEC FUTURE team.   

But he expressed concerns about a tunnel, noting that the Connecticut River is a "very fragile and important ecosystem" that deserves protection. 

Meanwhile, SECoast, a nonprofit collaborative between local residents and The Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, has begun outreach efforts, including a Facebook page, to inform residents of the issues associated with Alternative 1.

In addition to Alternative 1, NEC FUTURE Tier 1 Draft EIS outlines a "no action" alternative and two other alternatives for rail service.

Alternative 2 calls for a new "supplemental route" from New Haven to Hartford, and then to Providence, according to the NEC FUTURE website.

Alternative 3 proposes a "second spine" of high-speed rail tracks that would run adjacent to the existing Northeast Corridor tracks from Washington, D.C., to New York City, the website states. The plan outlines four possible paths to continue the "second spine" from New York City to Boston: two options to connect New York City and Hartford, as well as two options to connect Hartford and Boston.  

k.drelich@theday.com