Bruce Freeman Rail Trail, South Chelmsford MA

The Bruce Freeman Rail Trail is a partially-completed

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. The path is a paved

multi-use trail A shared-use path, mixed-use path or multi-use pathway is a path which is 'designed to accommodate the movement of pedestrians and cyclists'. Examples of shared-use paths include sidewalks designated as shared-use, bridleways and rail trails. A ...

, available for walking, running, biking, rollerblading, and other non-motorized uses. It follows the right-of-way of the disused Framingham and Lowell Line of the

New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , commonly known as The Consolidated, or simply as the New Haven, was a railroad that operated in the New England region of the United States from 1872 to December 31, 1968. Founded by the merger of ...

. The constructed route connects with the

Bay Circuit Trail The Bay Circuit Trail and Greenway or Bay Circuit is a Massachusetts rail trail and greenway connecting the outlying suburbs of Boston from Plum Island in Newburyport to Kingston Bay in Duxbury, a distance of . Landmarks include Henry David ...

, and Phase 2D will connect with the

Mass Central Rail Trail The Mass Central Rail Trail is a partially-completed rail trail from Northampton, Massachusetts to Boston along the former right of way of the Massachusetts Central Railroad. When complete, it will run through Central Massachusetts and Greater Bo ...

. The total planned length of the trail—which will eventually run continuously between Lowell and

Framingham Framingham () is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. Incorporated in 1700, it is located in Middlesex County and the MetroWest subregion of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The city proper covers with a popul ...

—is just under . The trail is divided into several phases of construction: *Phase 1: in Lowell (starting at Cross Point Towers),

Chelmsford Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Southend-on-Sea and Colchester. It is located north-east of London a ...

, and Westford (ending at Route 225). This segment opened on August 29, 2009. In 2019, the state awarded $180,000 for construction of a short connecting trail under the Lowell Connector. *Phase 2: :*Phase 2A: through Westford,

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

, and

Acton Acton may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Acton Australia * Acton, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Acton, Tasmania, a suburb of Burnie * Acton Park, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, formerly known as Acton Canada ...

(Route 225) to just north of Route 2). This segment began construction in June 2015 and opened on April 3, 2018. :*Phase 2B: in Acton and

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

, set to open in mid 2022 with a bridge spanning MA Route 2. :*Phase 2C: from Commonwealth Avenue to Powder Mill Road in Concord, with a short discontinuity at

West Concord station West Concord station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station located in West Concord, Massachusetts. It is served by the Fitchburg Line. The station has two side platforms serving the line's two tracks, with mini-high platforms for accessibility. Th ...

. This $7.2 million segment began construction in July 2017 and opened on September 27, 2019. An additional from Powder Mill Road to the Concord/ Sudbury town line will be added later. :*Phase 2D: in Sudbury from the town line to the Mass Central Rail Trail, with construction expected to begin in late 2022. *Phase 3: from the Mass Central Rail Trail to Route 9 in Framingham. This section of the right-of-way is still owned by

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

. In July 2020, the state awarded $300,000 to purchase the of right-of-way in Sudbury from the Mass Central Rail Trail to the Framingham line. Framingham and Sudbury were awarded $648,000 in state grants in 2022 to design Phase 3.

References

External links

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Friends of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail
Protected areas of Middlesex County, Massachusetts Rail trails in Massachusetts