Mystic — Carrying signs that read "Don't Railroad Us" and "Don't Track on Me," more than 100 residents of towns near the Connecticut and Rhode Island border joined Saturday with politicians from both states to protest a proposed rail bypass they said would cut through some of the region's most cherished natural resources and tourist attractions and displace small businesses, farms and homeowners.

The rally took place in the parking lot at Olde Mistick Village, where protesters stood between an aerial lift and a backhoe that property manager Chris Regan had parked to show what he said is the projected path of the bypass.

"My family owns the property," Regan said. "Nobody has contacted us. The Federal Railroad Administration doesn't want you to know about this."

The bypass plan, which proposes constructing a series of tunnels, trenches and elevated structures from Old Saybrook to Kenyon, R.I., to increase the speed of passenger trains through the region, would continue directly through the adjacent Mystic Aquarium property, Regan said.  Further east, it would steam through the historic village of Shannock in Charlestown, R.I., a cattle farm operated by the same family for four generations and a portion of the Narragansett reservation.

"It's like they just drew a line, without any thought," said tribal member Loren Spears, who stood with a contingent of other Narragansetts and carried a sign that said "Protect Tribal Land."

Kim Coulter, whose family has operated the Stoney Hill Cattle Farm in Charlestown for four generations, said the bypass would cut through the farm property, which she is planning to pass on to her children. 

"If we want to sell our homes, that's our choice, not somebody else's," Coulter said. "Not in this day and age."

Though officials in the Old Lyme area have been working for more than a year to stop the proposal, many along the Rhode Island border say they are only now learning about the plan. The FRA, which is the federal Department of Transportation's railroad agency, in December included the bypass plain in a Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement for NEC FUTURE, a plan that recommends $135 billion worth of future investments in the Northeast Corridor between Washington, D.C., and Boston.

"The $40 million that has already been spent on a project that is going to go absolutely nowhere is absolutely ridiculous," said Frank Grace, owner of Frank's Gourmet Grille restaurant on Whitehall Avenue in Mystic.

While FRA officials say the proposed bypass route is just a representative of what could become the final plan, and that the plan can only move forward with the approval of state governments, area officials said it already is stunting real estate sales and economic development.

Members of Connecticut's federal delegation have spoken out against the plan in Washington, and state representatives in Hartford have submitted three bills opposing the plan. On Saturday, they vowed to work with their neighbors in Rhode Island.

The crowd cheered when U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., promised to tie himself to the tracks if the route were ever built.

"This plan is a fun fantasy for Washington planners, but a nightmare for all of us who have to live with this proposal," he said.

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, announced Friday that he had received a letter from ranking members of the Appropriations Committee assuring him that there is no funding for FRA to implement the upgrades either under current law, or in the transportation budget passed by the House of Representatives for the 2017 fiscal year.

"The process has now begun to shift from the FRA to the public, and that's why we're here," Courtney said.

State Sen. Heathers Somers, R-Groton, distributed handouts with contact information of legislators and FRA officials and urged the crowd to write to them on neon-colored paper to get their attention and stop the plan "in its tracks."

"The only good thing that has come out of this plan is that all of us, across party lines, have come together to fight this," Somers said. "We need to harness that collective spirit to do great things."

The projected path cuts through the Fieldcrest Estates, an area of low- to moderate-income housing in Groton, and is causing anxiety for residents there, who are concerned their property will be taken by eminent domain.

"I think $135 billion is on the low side, once you get to all the legal fights," said state Rep. Joe de la Cruz, D-Groton.

Rhode Island state Sen. Dennis L. Algiere, R-Charlestown, and Charlestown Town Councilor Julie Carroccia said the bypass would have major impacts in their town, where the trains already get up to about 100 mph. About 500 Charlestown residents, the largest turnout ever, recently attended a meeting on the plan, Carroccia said, and 2,700 people have signed a petition opposing the bypass.

"We don't oppose high-speed rail," Carroccia said. "We want the FRA to make improvements on the current rail."

"In Westerly it goes right through aquifers," Algiere said. "It goes through farmlands, open preserves, tribal lands. We're going to fight it."

Stonington First Selectman Rob Simmons led the crowd in chanting, "Hell no, it won't go." Simmons said he would like Shore Line East, the region's commuter rail, to expand into Mystic and Westerly and that upgrading existing bridges and street-level crossings should be the priority for FRA.

"Imagine you get stuck on Walker's Dock crossing, pulling the boat, with your wife and kids and dog in the car and the engineer can't see you," he said.

SECoast, an opposition group in the Old Lyme area that has been researching and raising awareness of the proposal for the past year, will be releasing on Monday 82 pages of comments put together by specialists who have studied the proposal's impact on the environment and economy, according to Old Lyme First Selectwoman Bonnie Reemsnyder. The bypass plan includes a tunnel across the Connecticut River and in parts of Old Saybrook and Old Lyme.

State Rep. Devin Carney, R-Old Lyme, an early activist in opposing the bypass, joked that everybody should join Blumenthal in tying themselves along the rail to ensure the bypass doesn't get built. He likened the team that is fighting the proposal to the Super Bowl-winning New England Patriots.

"We're Tom Brady," Carney said. "We're just going to keep marching down the field until we crush this proposal."

The FRA said it would accept and review feedback on the proposal until the publication of the Record of Decision, which is not anticipated prior to March 1, 2017.

Details of the plan and contact information for comments can be found at www.necfuture.com.

k.florin@theday.com