Jesse Floyd
Phase 1 of the Belmont Community Path will be advertised for bidders on Valentine’s Day, 2026. If all goes well, the path will open in the spring of 2029.
The project has been considered for more than two decades. On Thursday night, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) held a public hearing on its 25% design.
In 2019, the town selected Nitsch Engineering to design the path. Phase 1 will run from the Fitchburg Cutoff Path at the Cambridge line to the Clark Street bridge. When Phase 2 is finished, it will complete a 2-mile link in the Mass Central Rail Trail, which will eventually run 104 miles, from Boston to Northampton.
According to the Boston Region Massachusetts Planning Organization, Phase 1 will cost $21.3 million, with $17 million coming from the federal government, and the balance from non-federal sources.
Whenever Phase 2 begins, it will have some cash in the bank. The morning of the meeting, Rep. Katherine Clark announced the project had won a $1 million grant.
“People should be aware of the incredible history of this project,” said state Sen. William Brownsberger at the hearing Thursday. “The conversation about the tunnel goes back to the ‘80s.”
The senator was referring to a crucial design element of the path: A tunnel under the tracks at Alexander Avenue, offering access to the new high school and middle school.
The pace of work on Phase 1 will increase this year. The plan is to have the 75% plan done this summer, followed in the fall by the 100% plan.
In the winter, the formal plans and cost estimates will be ready for review, followed by the advertisement for bids in 2026.
When complete, it will be a 12-foot-wide asphalt surface with a 4-foot soft shoulder.
Some seemed anxious to move the project along.
“This can’t be done fast enough,” said Claus Becker, a Town Meeting member.
Others aren’t sold, saying expressed concerns have not been addressed.
Jessica Whited, who lives on Pleasant Street, said she continues to have reservations about lighting, snow removal, and the impact on the wildlife habitat in the right-of-way.
“I would love to be in support of this project, but I am not,” she said.
Town Engineer Glenn Clancy said abutters to the project will get a chance to meet with planners in April to talk about how the path will look in their backyard.
