MIDDLETOWN — A $2 million state grant for the engineering and construction of a Middletown connection to the Air Line State Park Trail in Portland has the potential to unlock another $8 million in federal dollars for the overall project.

The State Bond Commission will be issuing the funds to the Lower Connecticut River Valley Council of Governments, of which Middletown, Portland and other Middlesex County municipalities are members.

The Air Line, a former railway that takes its name from the imaginary line drawn from New York to Boston, according to the state Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, is a stone dust trail used by walkers and cyclists.

The trail now has two sections: south from East Hampton to Windham and north from Windham to Pomfret with the Thompson addition and beyond, according to DEEP.

Plans are for it to eventually connect the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail with Middletown at the center, according to a news release from state Sen. Matt Lesser.

The lawmaker was instrumental in advocating for and securing the money, according to RiverCOG Executive Director Samuel Gold.

The Air Line and Farmington Canal trails are the two longest such routes in the state, said Gold, who has biked the Air Line Trail all the way to Willimantic. "I love it," he said Monday, speaking from Colorado. He cycled Glenwood Canon on Sunday.

"You can see in places like Colorado, where it's a huge tourism draw," Gold added.

Once finished, the 23-mile ALT-FCT Connector would complete the 111-mile Central Connecticut Loop Trail.

The local portion now ends at 82 Middle Haddam Road in Portland, which goes to East Hampton and beyond.

The town of East Hampton just received funding to complete its gap in the trail, Gold explained. Meriden, through the South Central Regional Council of Governments, has finished its plan, as has Cheshire, in the Naugatuck Valley.

"We're all working together toward this vision ... and now we have money to build," Gold said. The Portland-to-Middletown connection would make its way over the Arrigoni Bridge, which spans the Connecticut River.

"This is a once-in-a-career time for me when there's money in Washington (D.C.) for projects like this" through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant, Gold said.

The entire initiative is expected to take longer than a decade, according to John Hall, executive director of the Jonah Center for Earth and Art in Middletown. "As the state invests in it, it becomes more and more likely to happen, because now it's becoming a major project," he said.

The Air Line passenger trail was built in the late 19th century. It was called the Air Line "as if it were how the bird flies," Hall said. "It was the most direct line between New Haven and Boston."

Already, the Naugatuck River Greenway and Farmington Canal Greenway projects received federal support. All these require a 20 percent nonfederal match, Gold added.

The $10 million will allow the overall project to be realized, he said. "It's much bigger than the trail, because once you complete this, what becomes possible is a 111-mile loop in the center of Connecticut."

It will create a "very significant recreational and transportational facility ... that will connect neighborhoods to retail and workplaces, make walking and biking a viable option for people, and create more safe spaces to recreation with their families," Gold said.

He envisions a tourism connection could follow. "There are people who do the East Coast Greenway, and this would be a very convenient route for them," Gold added.

The ECG is enjoyed by pedestrians, horseback riders, cross-country skiers and many others who can travel from Maine to Florida.

Some portions of the old railway exist under the Portland Bridge, Gold pointed out.

"This construction money makes this project so much more feasible and have much better legs than it did before," the executive director added. "This is a great position to be in."

The original Air Line leads to Marlborough Street at Anderson Farm Supply in Portland, said Hall.

"If we can get the trail to there, it would either cross Marlborough Street (Route 66) and continue along the railroad spur to Pickering Street, up to the bridge, and use the sidewalk to get across," he said.

It will eventually hook up with both the Mattabassett and Westfield bike trails in Middletown. The city is working on the Newfield Corridor Trail, so named for Route 3, that will extend the Mattabassett Trail south at least to the high school, and possibly Veterans Memorial Park, Hall said.

Already, Hall said, the project has received $900,000 from the state to conduct a route study from Portland to Cheshire, $100,000 of which was used for the Meriden section, Hall said.

"The federal transportation department likes these multi-use trail projects, because they're trying to reduce traffic on the roads ..." he added.

Electric bikes are becoming all the more popular, Hall said. In fact, this summer, DEEP created an eBike Incentive Program, where Connecticut residents, 18 and older, can apply for a voucher of up to $500 toward the purchase of an eligible bike.

Demand has been so high, according to the Lamont Administration, that DEEP has increased the first year of funding from $500,000 to $750,000.

For information, visit portal.ct.gov/DEEP. To learn more about the Air Line, visit and bit.ly/3rKR3S5 and thejonahcenter.org