Bruce Freeman Rail Trail

Bruce Freeman Rail Trail in South Chelmsford

The Bruce Freeman Rail Trail is a partially-completed rail trail in Massachusetts. The path is a 10-foot-wide (3.0 m) paved multi-use trail, available for walking, running, biking, rollerblading, and other non-motorized uses.^[1] It follows the right-of-way of the disused Framingham and Lowell Line of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.^[2] The constructed route connects with the Bay Circuit Trail, and Phase 2D will connect with the Mass Central Rail Trail.^[3] The total planned length of the trail—which will eventually run continuously between Lowell and Framingham—is just under 25 miles (40 km).^[1]^[2]

The trail is divided into several phases of construction:^[2]

Phase 1: 6.8 miles (10.9 km) in Lowell (starting at Cross Point Towers), Chelmsford, and Westford (ending at Route 225. This segment opened on August 29, 2009.^[1] In 2019, the state awarded $180,000 for construction of a short connecting trail under the Lowell Connector.^[4]
Phase 2:

Phase 2A: 4.9 miles (7.9 km) through Westford, Carlisle, and Acton (Route 225 to just north of Route 2). This segment began construction in June 2015 and opened on April 3, 2018.^[5]^[6]
Phase 2B: 0.8 miles (1.3 km) in Acton and Concord, set to open in mid 2022 with a bridge connecting spanning MA Route 2.
Phase 2C: 2.8 miles (4.5 km) from Commonwealth Avenue to Powder Mill Road in Concord, with a short discontinuity at West Concord station. This $7.2 million segment began construction in July 2017 and opened on September 27, 2019.^[7]^[8] An additional 0.6 miles (0.97 km) from Powder Mill Road to the Concord/Sudbury town line will be added later.^[9]
Phase 2D: 4.5 miles (7.2 km) from the town line to Route 20, in design as of 2019.

Phase 3: 4.8 miles (7.7 km) from Route 20 to Route 9 in Framingham. This section of the right-of-way is still owned by CSX Transportation. In July 2020, the state awarded $300,000 to purchase the right-of-way from Route 20 to the Framingham line.^[10]

References[]

^ ^a ^b ^c Lefferts, Jennifer Fenn (August 27, 2009). "Phase one of rail trail to open Sat". Boston Globe.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Bruce Freeman Rail Trail". Friends of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail.
^ "Existing and Proposed Facilities". Central Transportation Planning Staff. February 17, 2005 – via Friends of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail.
^ "2019 MassTrails Grant Awards". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 2019.
^ "Bruce Freeman Rail Trail Next Phase Moves Forward" (Press release). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. June 25, 2015.
^ Fenn Lefferts, Jennifer (April 4, 2018). "New section of Freeman rail trail opens". The Boston Globe. Retrieved May 7, 2018.
^ "MassDOT, Concord Celebrate Bruce Freeman Rail Trail 2.5 Mile Extension" (Press release). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. July 14, 2017.
^ "MassDOT Celebrates Completion of Latest Phase of Bruce Freeman Rail Trail" (Press release). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. September 27, 2019.
^ "Bruce Freeman Rail Trail: Construction Phases" (PDF). Friends of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail. August 3, 2017.
^ "2020 MassTrails Grant Awards". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. July 2020. p. 8.

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