Two projects – one under construction now, and one due to start construction later this year – are poised to extend both ends of the Northern Strand Trail in the cities of Everett and Lynn.
In Everett, work has finally re-started (see photo above) on a short segment of the Northern Strand Trail under the Revere Beach Parkway, according to a recent update from Bike to the Sea.
In 2021, the city finished construction on a 0.8-mile segment of the pathway that runs from the Revere Beach Parkway to the Mystic River waterfront next to the Encore Casino, along the back side of the Gateway Center strip mall.
That 2021 project was supposed to continue under Revere Beach Parkway to connect with the rest of the Northern Strand Path. But this short connection under the highway was put on hold when workers ran into unforeseen issues with the highway bridge's abutments.
When this short segment finally opens later this year, the Northern Strand Trail will offer a continuous off-street route from Lynn to the Mystic riverfront.
Two years ago, former Governor Charlie Baker committed funding to finish designing and permitting a new bridge to carry the Northern Strand over the Mystic River to Somerville's Assembly neighborhood.
However, there have been no public updates on that project since then, and the federal government declined to fund the project's construction in its competitive RAISE grant program last year.
In Lynn, MassDOT is finishing its final blueprints for an on-street extension of the Northern Strand across the city's downtown area to Nahant Beach on the city's waterfront, where the path would connect to existing paved pathways to Nahant and along Lynn Shore Drive.
That project will construct new curb-protected, two-way cycletracks along the Lynn Common, Market Street, and the Lynnway.
The Lynn extension is expected to begin construction before the end of 2023, according to MassDOT officials.
You can read more about those plans in this story from 2021:
