Mass Central Rail Trail In Sudbury, Wayland: MassDOT Revealing Plans

SUDBURY, MA — Local residents will get a look at plans for a new local section of the Mass Central Rail Trail, a partially complete 104-mile bike and pedestrian pathway linking Boston to Northampton.

On Thursday, MassDOT will hold a public hearing to show off a proposed design for a two-mile section of pathway from the Wayland Town Center through Sudbury and across Route 20.

According to the MassDOT, the paved path will be 10 feet wide and travel along a former MBTA rail corridor. The Mass Central Rail Trail will be built after Eversource completes a project burying electric transmission lines through Sudbury and Hudson.

The new multipurpose trail will be completed without any disruption of car traffic, according to MassDOT, except near the Route 20 crossing where a new signal will be installed.

RELATED: Mass Central Rail Trail Work In Sudbury Could Start In 2024

The Eversource project has been the subject of a legal battle in Sudbury and Hudson, with a group of residents — and previously the town of Sudbury — attempting to stop the project. A series of legal wins over the last two years has allowed Eversource to begin work on the transmission line project, making way for the new Mass Central Rail Trail section.

About 53 miles of the Mass Central Rail Trail have been completed in sections between Boston and Northampton, including the paved pathway that extends from the Wayland Town Center east to near Waltham. The portion between Wayland and West Boylston is one of the longest missing links, although unimproved portions in Sudbury have been used for walking and hiking in recent years.

The Sudbury section of the MCRT will one day intersect with the north-south Bruce Freeman Rail Trail. Construction on a 4.4-mile section from Concord to Sudbury began in January.