The BH&E went bankrupt that same year, becoming the New York and New England Railroad (NY&NE), but the NHM&W stayed separate, failing in 1875.

[5] In 1999, a bridge over Muddy Gutter Brook west of downtown East Hampton was designed and built by cadets of the United States Coast Guard Academy.

A further 0.1-mile (0.16 km) section (including a bridge over the Pocotopaug Creek) was completed in June 2012, bringing the trail to Main Street in downtown East Hampton.

[10] In January 2015, East Hampton received a $400,000 grant for Phase I, running 1.7 miles (2.7 km) from Main Street to Aldens Crossing; that section opened in 2017.

[11][12][13] A second $538,000 state grant, awarded in March 2016, funded the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) Phase II from Aldens Crossing to the town line at Depot Hill Road.

[12] As of January 2019[update], phase II was complete except for a 1,500 feet (460 m) section through protected wetlands, which may require a boardwalk.

[15] In June 2018, Phase I of the town-maintained portion of the trail in Portland, Connecticut opened to the public,[2] extending from the East Hampton town line to the YCMA Camp Ingersoll, a distance of 2.3 miles (3.7 km).

[16] In December 2015, the town approved an agreement with Eversource to allow the construction of a recreational trail on their property; a formal signing took place on January 20, 2016.

An existing quarter-mile access road to the quarry leads north from the trailhead parking area to the rail trail.

Phase II will reach downtown Portland and the Arrigoni bridge, largely over the original rail route but with some deviations parallel to roads.

[5] Following abandonment by the railroad in the 1960s, the remainder of the original Airline right-of-way in Portland reverted to private ownership by adjacent landowners and would need to be leased or acquired by the town prior to construction of Phase II.

Phase III will attempt to create a trail north parallel to the Connecticut River to reach Riverfront Park, the fairgrounds, and ultimately Glastonbury.

Brand new bridges constructed by cadets from the US Coast Guard Academy carry the trail across the Blackledge, Jeremy Rivers, and Judd Brook.

This section crosses the Rapallo and Lyman Viaducts, massive fills that carried the railroad and now trail across wide valleys.

The state and the towns of Windham and Chaplin cleared, graded, installed signage, and put down a smooth stone-dust surface on this section of the trail.

An abandoned overpass that formerly carried Parker Road over the line collapsed in May 2016; the trail section was briefly closed during cleanup.

Two pedestrian bridges are proposed: a 100-foot span over Routes 169 and 44 at the old train depot and another on Needles Eye Road near the Audubon Center.

In 2019 the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CTDEEP) made a master plan to re-establish the economic significance and value of the Air Line Trail.

The trail crosses the following roads, providing access: The 3.6-mile (5.8 km) spur to Colchester consists of the same hard-packed gravel as the rest of the South section.