LUDLOW - The Springfield Water & Sewer Commission announced that as of Friday, the hiking trail around the Ludlow Reservoir will be closed to the public for at least several months for the removal of trees damaged by gypsy moth infestation.
People may still hike on the southern portion of the trail but it will be closed off at the 2-mile marker, and people will no longer be able to loop around the reservoir, said Commission spokeswoman Jaimye Bartak.
The Water & Sewer Commission is planning what she called a multi-stage project to be harvest trees that have been harmed by gypsy moths.
The reservoir, off Center Street, was constructed in the 1870s as a water supply for Springfield and Ludlow. Today, it is not an active reservoir, but serves as an emergency drinking water supply if Cobble Mountain Reservoir in Granville goes off line.
The Water & Sewer Commission maintains the reservoir and the 1,500 acres of surrounding watershed.
The trail has to be closed with work is ongoing as a matter of public safety, she said.
She said there is no firm answer for when the work will be completed and the path fully reopened.
“There will be several phases, and the work is weather dependent, so the closure is expected to remain well into the spring, and perhaps longer,” she said.
The harvesting will be according to forest management and forest cutting plans approved by the Massachusetts Division of Fish and Wildlife and the Department of Conservation and Recreation.