On Tuesday, Gov. Healey's administration announced this year's round of MassTrails grants, which pledge $7.5 million to help advance 50 trail projects across Massachusetts.
According to a press release from the administration, the money will contribute to the construction of 60 miles of new recreational trails, and enhance numerous other existing trails.
“When we invest in trails, we’re investing in jobs, tourism, and the local businesses that keep Massachusetts moving forward,” Governor Healey said in a statement accompanying the grant announcement.
“As a former mayor, I saw how trail networks bring communities together in a real, practical way. They connect neighborhoods, parks and downtowns, making it easier for people to walk, bike and spend time outdoors,” added Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll.
A full list of grant awards is available here. Some highlights include:
- Several new segments for the Mass. Central Rail Trail (MCRT) in central Massachusetts, including construction funding for a 1.5-mile segment through the abandoned Tanner-Hiller Airport in Barre, a short segment in Clinton between Rauscher Farm and the Berlin town line, the reconstruction of a MCRT bridge in Belchertown, and rehabilitation of four trail bridges in Northampton. Another grant will fund design work for the remaining unbuilt segments of the MCRT in Hudson, from the Assabet River Rail Trail in the east to the Berlin Town line to the west.
- Preliminary design work and permitting for the "Northern Scenic Greenway," a proposed 9.8 mile multi-use path through Westport, Dartmouth, and New Bedford. The project would fill a major gap in the conceptual South Coast Greenway network between Rhode Island and Cape Cod.
- Design funding for the Lynnfield Rail Trail, which would cross the entire town from Fosters Lane in Wakefield to Winona Pond in Peabody, where the trail could eventually link to the Border to Boston trail network. The eastern segment, a 1.8 mile trail from the Lynnfield Middle School campus to the Peabody line, is scheduled to begin construction next year.
- Design funding for the Town of Southampton to prepare construction plans for a 3.1 extension of the Manhan Rail Trail from its current terminus at Coleman Road near the Easthampton town line to Route 10, just south of the town center. This greenway is one of the last remaining gaps in the interstate Farmington Canal greenway network, which extends all the way from Northampton to New Haven, CT.
- A feasibility study for trail connectivity in Montague, "via town-owned public right-of-ways, with connections to the town's surrounding 5 villages, the DCR Canalside Rail Trail, Franklin County Bikeway, and possibly tying into Erving's proposed shared use path network."
- Funding for improved route signage in the Mystic River Greenways system, "compliant with the 2022 MassTrails Bike Wayfinding Design Guide," between Arlington, Cambridge, Somerville, Medford, Everett, and Boston.
