Work on the second phase of the Adirondack Rail Trail between Saranac Lake and Santa Clara is getting underway, and so, the NYSDEC is is asking hikers & bikers to stay off about 24 miles of the 34-mile-long trail between Lake Placid, Saranac Lake and Santa Clara as that construction gets going his summer. Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos says a contractor from Troy, New York has been awarded the nearly 9-million-dollar contract to build the next leg of the rail trail west of Saranac Lake. Meantime, work is still continuing on the first phase of the trail, a 9-mile stretch between the Lake Placid train station, and Saranac Lake. That portion of the trail is expected to be completed by this fall. Phase 3 of construction from Santa Clara to the Tupper Lake train station is expected to start in the fall 2024 and be completed in the fall of 2025.