Skip to Content
Streetsblog Massachusetts home
Streetsblog Massachusetts home
Log In
Bicycling

Protected Bike Lanes Coming to Wellington Bridge Over the Mystic

The Wellington Bridge (circled in red) between Medford and Somerville will get new protected bike lanes this fall. Existing bike paths are shown in green and bike lanes in blue. Base map courtesy of MAPC.

The City of Somerville has announced that it will create new protected bike lanes on the Wellington Bridge across the Mystic River this fall, connecting Somerville's fast-growing Assembly Square district with the City of Medford.

The project is being funded through the MassDOT's new Shared Streets and Spaces Program, a statewide pool of funding intended to help cities and towns create safer walking and biking routes with more room for physical distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Wellington Bridge currently has two narrow sidewalks (which do not provide adequate space for two people to walk or pass each other side by side) alongside six broad lanes for motor vehicle traffic.

The Shared Streets and Spaces project will attempt to calm traffic on the bridge and relieve crowding on the sidewalks by narrowing the motor vehicle lanes and creating a physically-separated bike lane in each direction.

The new bike lanes will connect to a growing network of off-street pathways on both banks of the Mystic River. Several other trail projects nearby are currently under design or construction, including a new path being built between Assembly and Sullivan Square as part of a shoreline stabilization project at the MBTA's Charlestown bus garage.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog Massachusetts

Roadblocked: Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Eliminates Most Federal Funding For Allston Highway Realignment

Without a formal project agreement in place, MassDOT will receive only $8 million out of a $335 million "reconnecting communities" grant that the Biden administration had pledged.

July 10, 2025

Another Bus Lane Bites the Dust: Wu Administration Forces Chelsea, Charlestown Transit Riders to Wait In More Traffic

The change comes just weeks before the MBTA rolls out a new bus lane enforcement system, which is expected to improve bus service considerably – at least on the dwindling number of streets where dedicated bus lanes still exist.

July 8, 2025

Balanced For Now – But Beacon Hill Is Putting the T Back On the Edge of Another Fiscal Cliff

The state's final budget gives the T about $80 million less than it had planned to spend in the coming fiscal year to cover its payroll and other transit operating costs.

July 7, 2025

Ambulance Data Reveals That Boston Drivers Are 4 Times More Likely to Run Over Pedestrians From Black Neighborhoods

"Overall, residents of predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods are about four times more likely than residents of predominantly white neighborhoods to be struck as a pedestrian."

July 1, 2025
See all posts