As reported on the Town of Sudbury’s website and reposted on the Friends of the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail’s site, construction of BFRT Phase 2D in Sudbury got underway last month.
We are happy to announce that on Monday, January 23, 2023, A.A. Will Corporation and their subcontractor, Stanley Tree Service, will commence active vegetation clearing in the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail Phase 2D corridor. This activity will be the actual start of construction in the field for this rail trail project.
Town of Sudbury
Phase 2D is approximately 4.5 miles, starting from its northern point just north of Route 117, near the Concord Town Line, and going south to the future extension of the Mass Central Rail Trail, which is just north of Route 20.
Construction will take about two years, but once completed, Phase 2D will bring a massive local and regional active transportation connectivity benefit and be yet another achievement in the impressive progress of the BFRT over the last 5+ years. Within Sudbury, it will knit together residential areas, schools, conservation areas, and shopping areas, opening up plenty of new opportunities for people to replace car trips with low-stress bike-walk trips on the trail, or to recreate on foot or on wheels.
Regionally, 2D is part of the meeting together of two major trails in metro Boston. The MCRT is making its way west from Boston, including segments under construction in Waltham (Wayside Trail) and in design in Belmont. Additionally, an MCRT segment from Wayland to Hudson is going to be co-located with a utility corridor and access drive, as described in this 2022 article in the Belmont Citizens Forum. After significant local debate, this segment appears to be moving forward and will involve Eversource (via an easement granted by corridor owner MBTA) constructing the access drive for their new underground electrical transmission line, followed by MassDCR paving over part of it to create the shared use path, improving trail crossings, and adding other trail features. It’s this MCRT segment that would intersect with both BFRT Phase 2D and the Assabet River Rail Trail in Hudson.
The BFRT has continued strong progress south from Chelmsford since 2018, when the ribbon was cut on Phase 2A through Acton. Phase 2B, the bridge over Route 2, has been under construction these last few years and now has an expected completion timeframe of this spring. Phase 2C was completed in 2019. There is a “last-half-mile” segment between 2C and 2D near the Concord/Sudbury line; I’m not sure of the status of that. More info about the Concord/Sudbury phases is available in monthly updates from the Town of Concord here.
Jeff Brubaker 