NORTHAMPTON — The City Council has added itself to a number of voices calling for the state’s Department of Transportation to complete the Massachusetts Central Rail Trail (MCRT), a 104-mile stretch of walkable and bikeable path that would connect Northampton to the city of Boston.

The council voted unanimously during its July 11 council meeting to approve a resolution that calls for the completion of the trail, which is estimated to cost upward of $100 million to complete. Currently, 60 miles of the trail are open for walking, with another 34.5 miles under public protection.

“The Northampton City Council recognizes and stands by the more than twenty years of planning by our elected and appointed officials that completion of the MCRT is consistent with a safer, greener, and more welcoming community,” the resolution states. “The completion of the Mass Central Rail Trail project aligns seamlessly with our city’s vision for a thriving and interconnected community, creating a lasting legacy for future generations.”

The resolution was sponsored by City Council President and Ward 5 representative Alex Jarrett, Ward 4’s Jeremy Dubs and Ward 2’s Deb Pastrich-Klemer.

“When my wife showed me the rail trail here, that’s one of the things that made me want to move here,” Pastrich-Klemer said during the meeting. “I think it’ll draw in a lot of people, they might stay on a couple of extra days or come a few days early and explore Northampton, so I think it’ll be really good for the city, for night life and downtown.”

Dubs noted how the trail had given him a way to better enjoy the outdoors, despite a disability that requires him to use a wheelchair.

“As soon as I read the resolution, I knew right away that I was in support of it,” Dubs said. “For me personally, it’s created a whole new world for me in terms of outdoor activities, being able to go on smooth pavement in my wheelchair and go as fast as I want to ... I can just kind of cruise on the rail trail and listen to music. It really relaxes me and it’s definitely been a benefit for my mental health.”

Last year, the Healey-Driscoll administration announced over $11 million in grant funding for trail improvements across the commonwealth, including funding for the MCRT which will allow for further construction on the trail. The project has also received substantial grants from a host of other groups, including communities, land trusts, conservation departments, and more.

Costs related to construction will involve paving, adding fences, and/or laying stone dust pathways. Other sections of the corridor have greater barriers, including missing bridges, privately-owned trail segments, and a 1,000-foot tunnel in need of repairs.

Craig Della Penna, president of the nonprofit Norwottuck Network that supports the construction and operation of the MCRT, said that if completed, the rail trail would be transformational for the city of Northampton.

Referencing the upcoming plans for Northampton to redesign its Main Street to allow for bike lanes, Della Penna said that “whatever gets built, it will be insufficient to take on the swell that’s about to happen.” He also said that in 25 years, Northampton would be “more like the Netherlands than the Netherlands” in terms of how many bikers would be in the city should the trail be completed.

According to a report commissioned by Norwottuck Network last year to evaluate the impact of a completed rail trail, such a trail would see usage quadrupled to between 4 to 5 million people per year, leading to increased demand for overnight lodging and new jobs in the area, with economic benefits in the amount of $87 million to $182 million annually for the state.

If completed, the trail would not only open up the entire 104-mile MCRT corridor, but it would also connect the trail to 18 other existing and under-development rail trails in the state, including several in this region, creating a 273-mile trail network.

Della Penna said he hoped to garner additional resolutions of support from communities that the MTRC runs through, including Southampton and Belchertown, which contain sections of the uncompleted parts of the proposed trail.

“All the [anti-trail] arguments are done with,” he said. “The state just has to commit to this.”

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.