Courtesy of DCR
by Frank Schroth
On Monday the DCR will hold a groundbreaking ceremony at the Ryan Playground in Mattapan to celebrate the beginning of construction on the extension of the Neponset River Greenway through Milton and Mattapan, This leg of the Greenway, more commonly referred to locally as the bike path, will extend from Central Avenue to Mattapan Square.
We received an email recently from Lee Toma of the Milton Bicycle Advisory Committee outlining the overall status of the project and want to share it. We thank Lee for the update and also for his steady, persistent and selfless advocacy for and support of bicycling here in Milton.
Here is a summary of points:
- The new segment of the trail will extend from Central Avenue in Milton, west along the trolley tracks, cross the river at a new bridge, and then continue along the Mattapan side of the river with a trail, a bridge over the train tracks, and a short section of decking on the banks of the river behind the new trailhouse at Blue Hill Avenue.
- The Mattapan trailhouse will be available for lease to a small business, much like DCR leases out the concession stand at Houghton’s Pond.
- Construction of this section of trail is expected to start in early spring. Work will be staged at Ryan Playground in Mattapan, where there is the most available space. Initial construction will focus on installing the bridge abutments and assembling the bridge.
- Work on the Milton side will include clearing the right-of-way, laying down a base layer, installing the southern bridge abutment and the bridge itself, finishing the trail surface and final landscaping. Crews will access the Milton side of the work site via Central Avenue.
- The construction process will last about 18 months, but work in Milton will be not take as long as on the Mattapan side.
- A public meeting will be held in about a month to present construction plans to neighbors.
- Meanwhile, the Hyde Park and Milton section of the Neponset Greenway south of Stop and Shop is nearly complete. Striping the roadway and landscaping will be completed in the spring.
- When these two sections of the trail are completed, this will leave just two gaps – in Hyde Park and Dorchester – in a trail network that runs from the Blue Hills to Castle Island in South Boston.
Additional info about the project, from a 2012 Federal grant application, can be found at:
The bike path extension will be enjoyed by so many families and people. Thank you to the DCR for making this happen. Here is to a Happy and Healthy New Year.