MA Link To RI: Work On Blackstone River Greenway Extension To Start

BLACKSTONE, MA — A long-awaited extension of the Blackstone River Greenway will start soon, eventually allowing Massachusetts trail users to travel into Rhode Island and as far south as Providence.

The state Department of Conservation and Recreation this week said the 1/2-mile extension from the current end of the Blackstone River Greenway at the Canal Street parking lot will start in the spring and will take up to three years to complete. The $11.3 million project will involve the rehabilitation of two defunct, historic railroad bridges east of the Blackstone River Greenway's current endpoint.

The project is part of two larger Massachusetts trail projects: the Southern New England Trunkline Trail, a 22-mile corridor from Franklin to Uxbridge; and the larger Blackstone River Greenway, which may some day provide a trail from Worcester to Providence. A 3.7-mile section of the Blackstone greenway between Blackstone and Uxbridge opened in 2018.

"This Blackstone section is a vital part of the Southern New England Trunkline Trail that will not only connect communities, but two states together, enabling stronger bonds and better opportunities to explore nature," Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Beth Card said in a news release.

Once DCR's extension is complete, trail users will be able to hop on a completed section of the Blackstone River Greenway in Woonsocket. Except for a section near downtown Woonsocket, Rhode Island's section of the trail travels unbroken to Central Falls.

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