The Department of Recreation and Conservation will present their construction plans for the Neponset River Greenway on Monday, April 13. The meeting will be convened at the Foley Senior Center at 249 River Street in Mattapan from 7 to 8:30 PM, and it will describe the work that will be required to build the trail from Blue Hill Avenue in Mattapan Square to Central Avenue in Milton.
The majority of equipment, supplies and construction work will be staged in the field behind Ryan Playground in Mattapan. The trail will be built west on the Boston side of the Neponset River, and a new bridge, dubbed the “Canopy Walk” for its path through the treetops, will be built over the trolley tracks. From there, the trail will continue beside the river and it will exit beside the newly-renovated DCR trailhead building. The building, which used to be a mattress store, will be available for lease when the trail is completed. The site sees thousands of commuters every day, and presents a good business opportunity for interested entrepreneurs. For more information about this opportunity, please contact Kevin Hollenbeck at DCR, 616-333-7404×105.
On the Milton side, the construction site will extend west from Central Avenue between the trolley tracks and the river. About halfway between the Valley Road and Capen Street stations, a bridge will be built across the river. The project does not include a link to the Capen Street neighborhood.
Site work in Milton will include clearing of some trees, installation of a trail base as well as culverts and swales, and pouring of the concrete bridge abutments. The bridge will be assembled on the Boston side and lifted into place from the field behind Ryan Playground.
Construction of the project is expected to take up to two years. Mattapan neighbors will be affected the most because of the equipment that will be trucked in to the field along Meadowbank Avenue. Site access on the Milton side is expected to be limited to the Central Avenue entrance, and will be separated from local homes by some of the woods and by the trolley tracks.
When complete, the Greenway will link to the existing trails, creating a pedestrian and bike-friendly corridor extending from the Blue Hills to Boston Harbor, including access to five MBTA stops, parks, playgrounds, a concert venue, canoe launches and a beach. In the future, the trail is expected to link to the Boston Harborwalk, with direct access all the way to Castle Island in South Boston.
The existing trail is already patrolled by DCR staff and the state police, and the new trail section will be as well.
DCR welcomes all interested neighbors to attend the meeting to learn about the construction plans.