Administration announces $11.6M in grants for 68 trail projects

On June 15 in Billerica, Healey-Driscoll administration officials announced $11.6 million in funding through the MassTrails Grant Program to support 68 trail improvement projects across the state.

The administration said the projects will expand and connect the state’s network of off-road, shared-use pathways and trails to use for recreation, exercise, and environmentally friendly commuting.

The MassTrails Grant Program provides matching grants, technical assistance and resources to individuals, municipalities, nonprofits, and other public entities for the design, construction and maintenance of diverse, high-quality trails, including hiking trails, bikeways, and shared-use paths.

This year’s projects will have an impact on more than 100 communities, helping to develop new multi-use trails, expand accessibility, create connections between towns and existing trails, support the construction of boardwalks and bridges, design and install new signage, and acquire new land for trails.

The communities receiving funding will provide a proposed match totalling nearly $16 million.

This year’s MassTrails Grant projects will impact the following municipalities: Abington, Amherst, Andover, Ashburnham, Ashfield, Athol, Avon, Barnstable, Becket, Bellingham, Berkshire County, Billerica, Boston, Bridgewater, Brimfield, Buckland, Carver, Charlemont, Chatham, Chelsea, Clinton, Conway, Dalton, Deerfield, Dighton, Dudley, Gardner, Goshen, Granby, Groton, Hardwick, Haverhill, Hawley, Holden, Hudson, Lawrence, Lee, Lennox, Littleton, Lunenburg, Lynnfield, Malden, Marlborough, Medford, Melrose, Middleborough, Milton, Newburyport, Otis, Oxford, Pittsfield, Plainfield, Princeton, Raynham, Royalston, Sandwich, Savoy, Sheffield, Shelburne, South Hadley, Southampton, Spencer, Stoneham, Sturbridge, Sudbury, Taunton, Townsend, Waltham, Wareham, Washington, Westborough, Whately, Williamsburg, Winchendon, Winchester, Windsor, Woburn, and Worcester.

Billerica is receiving $472,000 for the design, engineering and permitting of the Yankee Doodle Bike Path, a regionally significant non-motorized transportation connection between the Minuteman Bikeway in Bedford and the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail in Lowell.

Visit the MassTrails Grants webpage for a complete list and brief description of each of the 68 projects receiving funding.

The MassTrails Grant Program, administered by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, is funded through two sources: the DCR capital budget and the Federal Highway Administration’s Recreational Trails Program grants, managed at the state level by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation.

The grants announcement was made by Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper, Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Brian Arrigo, Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver, and other state and local officials.

On May 30, the MassDOT announced a new, interactive Priority Trails Network Vision Map for statewide shared-use paths. The map provides a centralized inventory of key rail trail projects that will help support an envisioned comprehensive statewide transportation trail network. It identifies approximately 320 miles of trails that have been constructed and are in use, 24 trails that are currently under construction, and another 60 miles of proposed paths that have been funded but not yet constructed. The map also lists priority shared-use path project locations that either have been proposed for consideration or will be pursued for funding and development to help address key gaps in the network.