On Wednesday evening, MassDOT shared early designs for a 2-mile extension of the Northern Strand Trail that would extend the popular pathway east through downtown Lynn to the Atlantic Ocean.
Earlier this year, the Commonwealth's Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs finished construction on a project that built new trailside amenities and extended the trail through Revere, Saugus, and Lynn. The trail currently ends at Western Avenue, about one mile west of downtown Lynn.
The new project, which is expected to cost $9.5 million and could go under construction in 2023, would extend that trail with curb-separated, on-street bikeways and sidewalk improvements on city streets through downtown Lynn to state-owned parkland at Nahant Beach.
The project would build new two-way, curb-separated bike lanes along the south side of the Market Square roundabout (pictured above), the Lynn Common, and Market Street.
The new bikeway would also run right past the downtown Lynn regional rail station in Central Square.
One block south of the MBTA station, at Broad Street, the trail would run along roadways owned by the Department of Conservation and Recreation to the bathhouse at Nahant Beach. From there, the trail would connect to an existing oceanfront path that runs along the beach to the town of Nahant.
At Wednesday evening's virtual meeting, hosted by teleconference, officials and residents from Lynn and Nahant expressed enthusiasm for the project.
"We're extremely supportive of this project and excited that you're creating a corridor for folks to make it to the shore, and also for us at the shore to get inland," said Tony Barletta, Nahant Town Administrator. "Having that protected bike lane is extremely valuable, and we're excited about that."
MassDOT plans to refine the project's engineering plans in the coming year, and have the project ready for construction by 2023.
